The FINANCIAL — According to RIA Novosti, a joint session of the Israeli and German governments, originally scheduled to take place in Berlin on November 30, has been postponed for the next year due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's viral infection.
An Israeli governmental press service said the prime minister has "a viral infection and moderate fever", adding Netanyahu's personal doctor advised his 60-year-old patient to stay at home.
"During consultations between Prime Minister Netanyahu's and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's offices, the intergovernmental meeting was decided to be postponed for January," the press service said.
The two states' governments were expected to discuss diplomatic and security issues, including the Middle East settlement, as well as the development of alternative energy sources during their joint session.
Last week, the UN assistant secretary general said the Middle East peace process and political efforts for a negotiated two-state solution have reached "a deep and worrying impasse."
Haile Menkerios told the Security Council that with no Israeli-Palestinian negotiations underway, no agreed terms of reference for such talks, and Israel's refusal to freeze settlements posing a key challenge, "immediate actions" should be made to prevent the failure of the peace efforts.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recently said he would not run in Palestinian presidential elections scheduled for January, citing a lack of progress in peace talks.
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