REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BERLIN - Germany is to offer Israeli citizens consular assistance in states such as Indonesia or Malaysia where Israel has no official diplomatic representation, under a new deal to be signed by Angela Merkel when she visits Jerusalem next week.

Israel's ambassador to Germany, Yakov Hadas-Handelsman, said the offer was "a special message" from Germany and underscored the importance of relations between the two countries. Chancellor Merkel travels to Jerusalem on Monday with her cabinet for consultations between the two governments.

Germany is often at pains to stress the responsibility it feels for the security of the Jewish state because of the Holocaust - the Nazis' slaughter of 6 million Jews in World War Two. Israel lacks diplomatic relations with some Muslim states.

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