JERUSALEM — A diplomatic tiff erupted Tuesday over a planned meeting by the visiting German foreign minister with a group highly critical of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had issued an ultimatum to Germany’s top diplomat, Sigmar Gabriel: Either cancel that meeting or I won’t meet with you.

Later, Netanyahu’s office said the meeting with Gabriel was off after the foreign minister refused to drop his session with Breaking the Silence, a nonprofit organization that collects the testimonies of former Israeli combatants with the aim of exposing ‘‘the reality of everyday life in the occupied Palestinian territories.’’

Gabriel told a German network that it was ‘‘totally normal’’ to meet with groups such as Breaking the Silence. He said ‘‘it wouldn’t be a catastrophe’’ if he did’t meet Netanyahu.

Gabriel arrived in Israel on Monday, the day Israelis mark Holocaust Remembrance Day. It’s a particularly sensitive time for Jews who remember the millions of Jews murdered during World War II.

In June, Palestinians will mark 50 years of Israel’s military occupation, viewed by much of the world as illegal.

Washington Post