As far as political photographs go, it could go down as one of the most awkward in history.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been caught on camera unintentionally pointing his finger to form a shadow looking like a ‘Hitler moustache’ on German chancellor Angela Merkel’s face.

Inevitably, the photograph, which was taken by Jerusalem Post photographer Marc Israel Sellem, has gone viral on social media, with journalists laughing off the unfortunate mistake.

Mrs Merkel was speaking at a joint press conference with Mr Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

At the press conference, she said Germany views Iran as a potential threat not just to Israel, but also to European countries.

But she stopped short of endorsing her host's demand that Tehran give up all sensitive nuclear projects under any negotiated deal with world powers, and reiterated Berlin's opposition to Israeli settlements on occupied land where the Palestinians seek statehood.

Germany is Israel's most important ally in Europe, where the Netanyahu government frets it is losing support given troubled peace talks with the Palestinians.

That makes Merkel's views a bellwether of European sentiment on Middle East issues.

The German chancellor visited Jerusalem with her cabinet to mark almost 50 years of bilateral ties with Israel, which was founded in part as a haven for survivors of the Holocaust.

在所有拍摄政治活动的照片中，这张照片恐怕是史上最难堪的。

德国总理默克尔日前在耶路撒冷与以色列总理内塔尼亚胡共同召开新闻发布会时，后者无意间的一个手势恰好在德国总理默克尔鼻下形成了一个形如‘希特勒式’胡子的阴影，而这一瞬间被照相机捕捉了下来。

随后耶路撒冷邮报(Jerusalem Post)摄影记者马克•以色列•瑟伦(Marc Israel Sellem)拍摄的这张照片迅速在社交媒体上疯传。

默克尔 2月24日率16名部长在内的代表团抵达以色列，展开为期两天的访问。

在发布会上，默克尔说德国认为伊朗不仅仅是以色列的潜在威胁，甚至是整个欧洲国家的威胁。

以色列要求伊朗放弃敏感的核计划，对此默克尔未予支持，反而一再强调柏林反对以色列在巴勒斯坦被占领土上修建定居点。

德国是以色列在欧洲最重要的盟国，以色列在与巴勒斯坦和谈中一直磕磕碰碰，默克尔的言论让内塔尼亚胡政府感受到了失去盟国支持后的焦躁。

而默克尔对巴以和谈的观点将会引导着整个欧洲看待中东问题时的心态。

德国总理此次携她的内阁成员访问耶路撒冷是纪念差不多已经建立50年的德以双边关系，德以双边关系的建立部分原因是为二战大屠杀的幸存者们提供一个安全的港湾。