German chancellor urges Netanyahu to halt Lebanon hostilities, pursue talks

RIYADH/BERLIN, April 14 - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cease hostilities in Lebanon and open direct peace talks with the Lebanese government, a German government spokesman said on Monday.

Merz told Netanyahu in a phone call that Hezbollah should be disarmed and that the conflict should be resolved through political means, spokesman Stefan Kornelius said.

The German chancellor also voiced "grave concern" over developments in the Palestinian territories and said there "must be no de facto partial annexation of the West Bank," Kornelius said.

Israeli and Lebanese diplomats are due to meet in Washington on Tuesday for talks that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he hoped would lead to a ceasefire.

Israel says it is striking the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, while hostilities between Israeli forces and Hezbollah have continued.

Lebanese authorities say more than 2,000 people have been killed in the country since March 2.