Israeli PM says German minister wouldn't take his call after snub

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a lower house of parliament Bundestag session in Berlin, Germany, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday defended her foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel, whose meeting with a group critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel talks.

Netanyahu said in an interview with a German newspaper he had tried to telephone Gabriel to clear the air after cancelling the talks but the visiting German foreign minister would not take his call.