German foreign minister snubbed in Israel

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer’s visit to Israel, the first by a senior European official since the new Sharon government was installed last month, began with a snub today.

Justice Minister Yosef Lapid called off the meeting because of a dispute over the venue, his spokesman said.

Lapid demanded that Fischer come to his office in east Jerusalem, the sector captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and claimed by the Palestinians as a future capital.

When Fischer reportedly refused, Lapid cancelled the meeting, said Lapid’s spokesman, Tzahi Moshe. “Germany will not dictate where Israel has sovereignty in Jerusalem,” Moshe said.

The German Embassy said that it had not ben informed of a cancellation and that the meeting was still scheduled to be held on Tuesday in a west Jerusalem hotel.

Lapid’s spokesman dismissed suggestions that Lapid was deliberately causing a diplomatic incident. “We were notified that according to protocol, Fischer was supposed to visit the minister in his office,” Moshe said.

Fischer is scheduled to hold meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, with the US backed “road map” to Palestinian statehood by 2005 expected to dominate the talks.

The US, EU, UN and Russia – which make up the Quartet of Mideast mediators - have given Israel and the Palestinians several drafts of the plan.

British and US officials recently said there should be no further revisions to the document but on Sunday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told Cabinet ministers he wanted 15 changes.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Monday that the plan could not be imposed on Israel and its success depended on the Americans taking the leading role in its implementation, with the remaining quartet members taking a back seat.