Tel Aviv deliberately insults president of the European parliament

When President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz made an official visit to Tel Aviv on Tuesday, the Israeli government insulted him by refusing to schedule a time for him to meet with either Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, even though the visit had been coordinated in advance.

This incident comes while the European Union is escalating its boycott campaign against Israel for continuing its settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel’s on-going settlement expansion is also in defiance of US efforts to reach a peaceful agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Israeli radio reported on Tuesday that the Israeli Prime Minister’s office was refusing to set a time for Schulz to meet with Netanyahu and Lieberman, but confirmed that Schulz had indeed requested to meet with both of them.

The sources ruled out that a meeting would be held between Lieberman and Schultz in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because of the incompatibility of their schedules, while the Prime Minister’s office refused to comment, according to Israeli radio.

Last Sunday evening, Netanyahu held a special ministerial meeting to discuss ways for Israel to face the increasing threats of an international boycott.

According to Israeli radio, these discussions were kept under wraps, but it quoted sources who revealed that Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz presented a comprehensive plan during the meeting to launch a media campaign against those organisations calling for a boycott against Israel. However, the Israeli Foreign Ministry reportedly believes that boycott threats should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.