Netanyahu to Cancel Meeting with German FM

Local Editor

"Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is demanding that German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who arrived on Monday for a visit to the "Israeli" entity, cancel his planned meeting on Tuesday with representatives of "Israeli" NGOs, B'Tselem and Breaking the Silence, critical of the apartheid regime.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an "Israeli" official confirmed reports that Netanyahu threatened to cancel the meeting if Gabriel met with "Israeli" rights groups Breaking the Silence and B'Tselem.

Breaking the Silence seeks to document "Israeli" military abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories, while B'Tselem worked on a range of issues and had strongly opposed illegal "Israeli" settlement building.

Cancelling the meeting between Netanyahu and Gabriel would be a rare step, but in line with the current right-wing "Israeli" regime's stance against groups it accuses of having political agendas.

"We are learning through the 'Israeli' media that Prime Minister Netanyahu, whom I have frequently met, wants to cancel this meeting because we want to meet critical representatives of civil society," Gabriel told German public television station ZDF.

"It is difficult for me to imagine this because that would be extremely regrettable... It is completely normal that we speak with civil society representatives during a visit abroad."

Gabriel added that it would be "unthinkable" to cancel a meeting with Netanyahu if he met critics of the German government during a visit to Germany.

Such disputes had arisen in the past between visiting foreign officials and the "Israeli" regime.

In February, "Israel" reprimanded the Belgian ambassador after the country's Prime Minister, Charles Michel, met with B'Tselem and Breaking the Silence during a visit to the "Israeli" entity.

However, there was no public rebuke from the government when British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson met with anti-settlement NGO Peace Now during a visit in March.

The "Israeli" entity had occupied the West Bank for 50 years and illegal settlement building in the Palestinian territory had drawn intense international criticism.

"Israeli" settlements are seen as illegal under international law and major stumbling blocks to finding a resolution to the conflict.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team