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Didier Reynders

Belgain FM postpones Israel trip after Netanyahu cold shoulder

Foreign minister who led the charge for product labeling in the EU postpones his visit to Jerusalem after PM refuses to meet with him.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders has postponed a planned visit to Israel this week after it was made clear to him that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to meet him over Belgium's support of labeling settlements goods.

 

 

Reynders is the first European foreign minister to pay the price for the new Foreign Ministry measures, first reported in Yedioth Aharonth, taken against the countries that supported the EU decision to label settlement goods. Among other things, a decision was made to limit meetings with ministers and delegations from these countries during visits to Israel.

 

 

The Belgian foreign minister was behind a letter signed by 16 foreign ministers from the EU last April calling on the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to push forward new union-wide labeling guidelines.

 

Officials in Israel were sure that the letter was the final nail in the coffin, and as such drove the EU to pass the new directives.

 

The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem made a decision to focus on these 16 signatory states. Other measures include delaying or preventing the entry of delegations from these states to the West Bank or Gaza, as well as limiting projects from those countries in the Palestinian territories.

 

Earlier this week, Netanyahu instructed the Foreign Ministry to suspend all ties with the EU with regards to the peace process.

 

Reynders was supposed to arrive in Israel on Saturday night. He had asked to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also serves as the foreign minister.

 

The Foreign Ministry notified the Belgian ambassador to Israel that Netanyahu would not meet with the foreign minister. Although the issue was formally chocked up to scheduling conflicts, the Belgians got the message.

 

Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photo: AFP)
Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photo: AFP)

 

The Belgian minister spoke with Israel's ambassador to Belgium, Simona Frankel, and notified her that he was postponing his trip to Jerusalem until further notice.

 

The Foreign Ministry said in response, "Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Netanyahu did not cancel the meeting, because the meeting was never scheduled due to scheduling issues. Israel will continue to have broad ties with the countries in the European Union, while at the same time reevaluating the role played by the EU's institutions with regards to the peace process with the Palestinians."

 

Cultural boycott in Belgium

An international festival in Belgium announced that it would boycott the Israeli embassy in the country.

 

The embassy had contributed financially to the International Liège Festival, however festival organizers caved into pressure from BDS groups and returned the funds.

 

The embassy logo and the State of Israel's emblem were removed from the festival's official materials. As a result, Israel's ambassador to Belgium would not host an event for festival participants.

 

The financial contribution was given in light of the participation of Israeli dance troupe Bat Sheva in the 2016 festival. It is common for embassies to sponsor events which include acts from their home countries.

 

The festival organizers told the Israeli embassy that they did not want the funds, and as such no logo would be presented, and the ambassador's reception would be canceled.

 

The organizers said that the cancelation would allow them to deal with calls to boycott or cancel the Bat Sheva performance, as long as they could "keep their hands clean," by not receiving funds from the State of Israel.

 

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 12.02.15, 14:43
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