Netanyahu defends to cancel meeting with German FM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that it is his policy not to meet diplomats who have met groups criticizing Israel, after he canceled a meeting with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.

Netanyahu canceled a meeting with Gabriel after the foreign minister met representatives of Breaking The Silence and B'Tselem, two Israel-based human rights watchdogs that are critical of Israel's occupation in the West Bank.

"My policy is clear: not to meet diplomats who visit Israel and meet with organizations that slander the Israel Defense Forces' soldiers and seek to prosecute our soldiers as war criminals," Netanyahu said, according to a statement released on his behalf.

An earlier statement released by the Prime Minister's Office said that diplomats are welcome to meet with civil society organizations, but "Netanyahu will not meet with those who lend legitimacy to organizations that call for the criminalization of Israeli soldiers."

The office added that Israel's relations with Germany "are very important and they will not be affected" by the diplomatic drama.

Following the last-minute cancellation, Gabriel refused to take a phone call from Netanyahu, according to a report of the Ha'aretz newspaper. The prime minister wanted to speak with Gabriel to personally explain his stance, Ha'aretz reported.

Commenting on Netanyahu's prior warning against meeting representatives of the rights groups, Gabriel told German ZDF television that "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," he said, adding that it would be "unthinkable" to cancel a meeting with Netanyahu if he meets government critics in Germany.

Gabriel is touring the Middle East to press for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

On Tuesday morning, he met with opposition leader Isaac Herzog, chairman of the Labor party.

In the afternoon, he met Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and told him that Germany is "committed to the friendship, partnership, and special relationship with Israel, and nothing will change that," according to a statement released by the President's Residence.

Such incidents occurred in the past during officials' visits to Israel.

In February, Netanyahu instructed the Foreign Ministry to reprimand the Belgian ambassador after Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel met with representatives of Breaking The Silence and B'tselem during a visit to Israel.

Right-wing political leaders hailed Netanyahu's move. Education Minister Naftali Bennett and leader of the ultra-nationalist Jewish Home party said his party is backing Netanyahu.

"Breaking The Silence is not an organization that is anti-Netanyahu, but an anti-Israel and anti-Israel Defense Forces. It is inappropriate for a foreign minister who visits a particular country to meet with people who are acting against that state," Bennett said in a statement.

The two groups have become a frequent target for condemnation by right-wing politicians, who accuse them of being "traitors."

A new law in 2016 requires nongovernmental organizations that receive more than half of their funding from overseas governments or bodies like the European Union to publicly state that they receive foreign funds.

The law targets specifically human rights groups because right-wing groups almost always rely on local donations.

Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Middle East War and has controlled the two regions ever since, despite international criticisms. Endi