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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pictured unintentionally pointing his finger to form a Hitler moustache on German chancellor Angela Merkel's face.

The picture, by Jerusalem post photographer Marc Israel Sellem, is going viral on Twitter with journalists laughing off the unfortunate joke.

Merkel, who spoke at a joint press conference with Netanyahu, said she did not support boycotts of Israel but remarked that Germany was obliged to follow European Union guidelines on the labelling of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

She said that Iran was a potential threat not just to Israel, but also to European countries.

However, she refused to endorse Netanyahu's demands that Tehran give up all sensitive nuclear projects under any negotiated deal with world powers.

srael's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) stands next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) stands next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters