Bibi Summons Envoy after Belgian PM Met Anti-Occupation Groups

Local Editor

"Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a reprimand of the Belgian Ambassador after a meeting between Belgium's PM and leaders of two "Israeli" rights groups accusing the "Israeli" army of abuse in occupied Palestinian territories.

"The Belgian government needs to decide whether it wants to change direction or continue with an anti-‘Israel' line," Netanyahu's office warned in a statement Wednesday, referring to Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel's decision to hold a meeting with heads of B'tselem and Breaking the Silence right groups during his three-day official visit to the "Israeli" entity.

The Belgian ambassador, Olivier Belle, is set to be summoned to the so-called "Israeli" Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

Both rights groups are known for uncovering cases of abuse of power by the "Israeli" Occupation Force [IOF] against Palestinians, such as random shootings of civilians. The groups constantly face accusations of denigrating the entity's image, undermining its security and endangering the lives of soldiers.

While criticizing Michel for meeting rights activists, the "Israeli" PM's office also pointed to another "unfriendly" gesture by Belgium, which had opened an investigation into the alleged war crimes during the "Israeli" aggression in Gaza in late December 2008 and early January 2009 known as "Operation Cast Lead". Last month, the Zionist Union's Tzipi Livni, who was foreign minister at the time of the aggression, canceled a visit to Brussels after the Belgian prosecutor's office announced it wanted to question her.

The Belgian PM met with NGO leaders just a day after a meeting with Netanyahu himself, during which the right-wing "Israeli" leader asked his Belgian counterpart to withdraw support from "Israeli" groups "that act against" IOF soldiers and "Israeli" entity, "including transferring funds indirectly," the statement read, without providing any names.

As an organization established by veteran "Israeli" combatants in 2004, Breaking the Silence claimed to gather first-hand accounts from soldiers depicting widespread human rights violations and bring them to light. The groups stated that the "cases of abuse towards Palestinians, looting, and destruction of property," which have become "the norm for years."

Over the years, the group had collected testimonies from more than 1,000 IOF soldiers.

"The [Palestinian] civilians know they are not supposed to be there. Therefore, whoever you see there, you kill," one of the testimonies citing words of an IOF commander read.

B'Tselem, founded in 1989, aims to "educate the ‘Israeli' public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories," and "help create a human rights culture in ‘Israel'."

The apartheid "Israeli" regime had been trying to silence the groups by erecting legal barriers preventing them from reaching out to the general public. In January, a bill that would forbid nongovernmental organizations that "undermine the educational goals or harm" IOF soldiers from addressing students at schools was passed by the "Israeli" parliament in a preliminary hearing.

The proposed legislation is generally seen by the "Israeli" media as targeting Breaking the Silence. However, the group itself remained undeterred in its intentions.

"[Education Minister Naftali] Bennett's obsession with Breaking the Silence only makes us stronger. While he tries to silence us, more and more youth hear about the occupation," Breaking the Silence CEO Yuli Novak said at the time, as cited by the Jerusalem Post.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team