Israel and Germany have upgraded bilateral ties, as Chancellor Angela Merkel and half her cabinet visit Israel to mark its 60th anniversary. She has chaired a joint cabinet session and will address parliament on Tuesday, in an unprecedented honour.

Some Israeli politicians have voiced objections to the speech being in the German language, which some Holocaust survivors and their descendants still find offensive.

The agreement institutes annual meetings at prime ministerial, ministerial and cabinet levels. Germany already has similar agreements with France, Italy, Spain, Poland and Russia. It is Israel's first such agreement with another state.