BICOM

Israel’s Prime Minister yesterday cancelled a scheduled meeting with the Foreign Minister of Germany in protest of his earlier meetings with two anti-occupation NGOs.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to cancel his meeting with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel if he agreed to meet with Israeli left wing NGOs B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence. Gabriel, who said he had only learned of Netanyahu’s threat from media reports of the subject, described Netanyahu’s ultimatum as “regrettable” and refused to yield to the demand.

The Foreign Minister also said it would be “inconceivable” for a German minister to cancel a meeting with an Israeli minister if the latter met with figures critical of the German government. He said: “You can’t get a proper and comprehensive picture in any country on Earth if you only meet in government offices.”

Explaining his cancelation of the meeting, Netanyahu said: “My policy is clear: Not to meet with diplomats who visit Israel and meet with organisations that slander IDF soldiers and seek to put our soldiers on trial as war criminals.”

Sources close to Netanyahu claim that Gabriel was deliberately looking for a confrontation. He also refused to take a phone call from PM Netanyahu later in the day.

Nonetheless, Gabriel reaffirmed that Germany was “committed to the friendship, partnership, and special relationship with Israel” and meetings with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and the Head of the opposition Isaac Herzog went ahead as scheduled. Both sides have clarified that the spat will not affect diplomatic relations.

President Rivlin explained his objections to Gabriel at their meeting and reiterated Israeli’s commitment to “to maintain our army as the most moral in the world”. He also said that “Israel and Germany never had a simple relationship and will never have a simple relationship”.

Germany is one of Israel’s strongest allies in Europe. During the visit to Israel, Gabriel discussed developing and expanding collaboration in a variety of fields, including security and counter-terrorism, technology, and trade and renewable energy, an issue the German Foreign Minister is especially interested in.