What was going through Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s mind when he forced German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel to choose between a meeting with him and one with the B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence human rights groups? Hard to believe that Netanyahu assumed a senior politician of a major European power would bend his will to that of a foreign leader and give into the prime minister’s ultimatum by scrapping his planned meeting with the human rights groups.
How would German Chancellor Angela Merkel have explained such a surrender to her citizens? After all, Gabriel did not ask to meet with any law-breaking settlers from illegal West Bank outposts who attack Palestinians, beat Israeli peace activists and pelt Israeli troops with stones (actions about which Netanyahu is stingy with his posts and tweets). The members of B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence are law-abiding citizens. And Netanyahu has, after all, championed the approach whereby anything not proven to be illegal is legal. That includes a steady supply of cigars and champagne to the Netanyahu household by business people, to cite an unrelated example (a scandal currently under police investigation).
