Netanyahu cancels on German official over protest groups

Bloomberg

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a meeting with Germany’s visiting foreign minister, who insisted on talking with Israeli citizen groups that accuse the army of violating Palestinian human rights.
Netanyahu called off the meeting after Sigmar Gabriel refused to skip a discussion with Breaking the Silence and B’Tselem. A meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin went ahead as planned.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu will not meet with those who lend legitimacy to organizations that call for the criminalization of Israeli soldiers,” his office said in a statement released on Thursday afternoon. The spat reflects growing domestic tensions over the behavior of citizen groups opposed to the current Israeli government. Netanyahu says the groups seek to generate international pressure on Israel to adopt policies that voters have rejected at the ballot box.

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Gabriel, who was in Israel to participate in Holocaust memorial day activities on Monday, said it was “not a catastrophe” to miss the meeting with Netanyahu and the issue wouldn’t affect bilateral relations. “It surprised me that the visit was canceled,” he told reporters Tuesday, describing meetings with civil society groups as “quite usual” parts of his diplomatic visits. “I think we mustn’t become part of the domestic policy game in Israel.”