Israel hosts Belgian PM, then summons envoy
Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered Belgian ambassador to Israel to be summoned over Prime Minister Charles Michel of Belgium's meeting with two prominent rights groups critical of Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu ordered a formal protest to be handed over to the Belgian ambassador after Michel, who is on a visit to the occupied territories, met the heads of Breaking the Silence and B’Tselem rights groups.
“The government of Belgium needs to decide if it wants to change direction or continue with its anti-Israel path,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office, noting that the Belgian ambassador will be summoned on Thursday.
The statement expressed concern over initiatives underway by the Belgian state prosecutor to try senior Israelis including former foreign minister Tzipi Livni and military officers.
Breaking the Silence collects testimonies from former Israeli troops with regard to rights violations they witness in the Palestinian territories.
Michel discussed Israel’s policies in the West Bank with the two groups. The meeting came a day after Michel met Netanyahu, during which the Israeli premier urged his Belgian counterpart not to fund organizations opposed to Tel Aviv's policies.
Last month, the Israeli parliament the Knesset passed a preliminary reading of a cabinet bill that would prevent Breaking the Silence from holding events in high schools.
Although the proposed legislation is primarily directed at the Breaking the Silence, it will empower the education minister to prohibit all groups “that work to damage" the Israeli military from entering any academic institutions.
Hawkish education minister Naftali Bennett unveiled the new draft legislation in December, but it must pass three more readings in the Knesset before it is enacted as a law.
During his visit to Britain on Monday, Netanyahu asked British Prime Minister Theresa May to stop funding for what he called NGOs “hostile to Israel.” According to Netanyahu, May plans to conduct a “re-examination” of the UK approach to funding NGOs.
“I gave them the [names of] the various NGOs that the government of Britain funds, among them Breaking the Silence, and I asked her to stop funding them,” Netanyahu told reporters in London.
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