Rifts

Netanyahu Cancels Bieber Meeting

Over issue of rockets shot from Gaza.

In case you were wondering, we can now confirm: Bibi is not a Belieber. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled a scheduled meeting with teen heartthrob Justin Bieber, who’s in Israel to perform. Netanyahu, hoping to score some political points, invited a group of children who live near the Gaza Strip to attend. The children had just gotten off a school bus last week when a rocket fired by Hamas fighters in Gaza struck, injuring a teen and the driver. But when Bieber reportedly refused to meet the kids, Bibi pulled the plug on the meeting. “We were approached by Justin Bieber's people about a meeting with the prime minister and Mr. Netanyahu was open to it,” a spokesman for the prime minister told ABC News. "He had an idea, he'd bring a number of youngsters that have had a difficult time in bomb shelters over the past few weeks and bring them to an event that would be for them a fun occasion.” A spokesman for Bieber, who has previously dealt with other controversial politics, told the Associated Press that a meeting was never finalized. But another told The New York Times that children had been invited to Bieber’s Thursday night concert.