Berlin lodges complaint with Netanyahu’s office after ‘distorted’ leaks from PM’s meeting with German FM

Germany says Friday it complained to Benjamin Netanyahu’s staff after what it described as a “distorted” account of a row between German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and the Israeli prime minister was leaked to the press.

Israeli media, as well as Germany’s top-selling tabloid Bild, had reported that an argument erupted between Netanyahu and Baerbock during the German minister’s visit to Israel this week.

Asked about the report after a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting on the Italian island of Capri, Baerbock says that “we are not reporting on confidential discussions.”

“The German ambassador was in contact with the prime minister’s staff and made it clear what we think of such distorting publications,” she says.

“Regret was expressed to us regarding the publication, whose source is unclear.”

According to the media reports, Baerbock was shown footage of markets with abundant supplies of food in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, as well as images of beaches in the coastal territory where Palestinians were sunbathing and swimming.

Baerbock responded by criticizing Netanyahu over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying the images did not reflect the true situation there, reportedly sparking a retort from the premier who said Israel was “not like the Nazis” who manufactured reality.

Germany’s ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert has tweeted that “key points” in the media accounts are “wrong and misleading,” but did not specify what was the issue.

Despite growing global concerns about the situation in Gaza, Netanyahu this week rejected any claims about famine, insisting Israel is doing “above and beyond” what is needed “on the humanitarian issue,” his office said.