Israeli Leader Cancels Meeting After German Official Visits Protest Group
Israeli and German officials said the cancellation of the top-level meeting planned for later in the day came after the German minister of foreign
affairs, Sigmar Gabriel, met with the group Breaking the Silence, which opposes the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
The tension began when the Israeli news media addressed the possibility
that Mr. Gabriel would visit with the group and reported that Israeli officials — and probably Mr. Netanyahu himself — were threatening that the visit would be a deal-breaker for the planned top-level meeting ahead.
This month, two former chiefs of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency, a retired senior police commander
and a respected law professor, formed a panel for another Breaking the Silence event at the gallery to speak about the corrosive effect of 50 years of occupation on Israel’s security forces and citizens.
But when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel called off a session with the German foreign minister here on
Tuesday, it seemed a particularly sharp reflection of the tension within Israel, and with its allies, these days.
"Imagine if we would invite Mr. Netanyahu to Germany and he wants to meet with NGOs
that are critical of the government and we say, ‘If you do that we’ll break off the visit.’ People would tell us we’re crazy." He refused to speculate on whether the cancellation was a tit-for-tat move after the German leadership postponed a governmental exchange with Israel, originally planned for May, citing scheduling conflicts.
that Diplomats are welcome to meet with representatives of civil society,