Israeli PM snubs German minister after row over rights group - media

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a discussion about the Report of the State Comptroller for Operation Protective Edge at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem April 19, 2017 REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Files

BERLIN (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not meet Germany's foreign minister on Tuesday after a row over Sigmar Gabriel's plans to meet civil society groups on a visit to Israel, several German media reported. Germany's DPA news agency, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Online and other media reported that Netanyahu had cancelled the talks, a move Gabriel said earlier would be "regrettable". No one at the German Foreign Ministry could immediately be reached for comment. Israeli media had reported that Gabriel would meet "Breaking the Silence", a group that collects testimonies from Israeli veterans about the military's treatment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. (Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Paul Carrel)