The Munich Security Conference, which is considered one of the most respected stages in the world in the fields of national security, decided to push Israel off the main stage of the conference this year.
This was learned by "Israel Hayom" today (Monday) from sources related to the organization of the conference.
Gantz at the Munich conference: "Netanyahu and I are political rivals, but when it comes to the defense of Israel - we are one" (February 17, 2019) // Reuters
Until last year, the conference gave Israel's representatives a significant place in the conference.
Thus, for example, Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Ministers of Defense - Gantz, Galant and Ya'alon - addressed the central seats of the conference.
However, ahead of the conference that is expected in two weeks, the conference management decided to reject all requests from Israel for significant appearances at the conference.
The request of Defense Minister Yoav Galant's office to speak at the conference, as was the case in the past, was rejected.
Gallant was instead offered to participate as a panel speaker.
The families of the abductees are also being pushed by the management of the conference - their request to hold an identification ceremony with many participants was refused.
The alternative offered to the families is to hold a "side event", which means that few of the participants in the conference will take part, and the attention of the international media will also be biased.
It should be noted that the person who heads the "Munich Conference" is Germany's former national security advisor, Christoph Huisgen, who has a very problematic record regarding Israel.
Thus, for example, he justified the words of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who legitimized the crimes of Hamas when he said that "the massacre of Hamas was not carried out in a vacuum", and opposed the defensive war that Israel embarked on.
Christoph Huisgen, photo: Jorg Carstensen
The Huisgen against Israel
According to Huisgen, the background to the Hamas attack is "56 years of occupation," and he added that "the latest decision says that the occupation is a blatant violation of international law. We must reach a diplomatic solution. We must prevent a flare-up, that is, an invasion of Israeli soldiers into the Gaza Strip. Israel must avoid the attack the bottom".
According to a report in the German "Der Spiegel", when he served as Germany's national security adviser, Huisgen urged the Obama administration to remove the protection of Israel in the Security Council.
The documents cited by the newspaper said that he met secretly with Philip Gordon, the head of the department at the State Department, and with Philip Murphy, the US ambassador to Germany, and offered to put pressure on Netanyahu.
According to Huisgen, the background to the Hamas attack is "56 years of occupation".
War of Iron Swords, photo: AFP
The same report states that "According to the reports, Washington is threatening to withdraw Israel's support in the UN Security Council with the so-called Goldstone report, which accuses Israel of war crimes in Gaza.
This is what was written in a secret report in the US. The Americans are not enthusiastic about it. Later, Merkel considered making the arms shipments dependent on concessions to the Palestinians."
It should be noted that the "Munich Conference" is financially supported by several bodies of the German government, while the government in Berlin takes a line of consistent support for Israel throughout the war.
No response was received from the spokesmen of the Munich conference to "Israel Today"'s request.
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