Nine members of the German Bundestag's Interior and Homeland Committee are in Israel to enhance security cooperation in meetings with Israeli officials.
The German delegation, which arrived in Israel on Sunday, is set to meet Israeli ministers, cyber experts and coalition and opposition MKs in the Knesset to discuss cyber defense and domestic threats.
The delegation will also visit the Gaza border, an Iron Dome battery and the Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance museum in Jerusalem before flying back to Germany on Thursday. The delegation is led by acting committee chairman MP Lars Castellucci of SPD, the leading party in Germany's federal government.
The European Leadership Network
The visit is facilitated by The European Leadership Network (ELNET), a European-based NGO dedicated to strengthening relations between Israel and Europe "based on shared democratic values and strategic interests."
The visit follows a previous German delegation visit of Bundestag Defense Committee members, also organized by ELNET. Bundestag president Bärbel Bas also visited Israel back in April after being invited by Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy to attend Holocaust Remembrance Day events.
Cybersecurity top of German agenda
The delegation enables the German MPs to receive "exclusive opportunities" to "witness the challenges Israel faces, as well as the many opportunities it has to offer," CEO of ELNET's Israel branch, Shai Bazak, said.
"We are certain that upon return to Germany, these MPs will continue to strengthen their partnerships with Israel"
Shai Bazak, CEO of ELNET-Israel
The executive director of ELNET's Berlin offices, Carsten Ovens, said Israel and Germany share "common security issues, challenges and interests."
Israel, who Ovens referred to as "a world leader in cybersecurity," can be particularly useful in this field, with German interest "correspondingly high," he added.