 "President Donald Trump reaches to shake the hand of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. AP File")
A last-minute invitation by US President Donald Trump to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attend a multinational Gaza summit in Egypt was abruptly scrapped after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to withdraw from the event if Netanyahu was present, according The Guardian report.
The high-level summit, co-chaired by Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi in Sharm el-Sheikh, was set to host more than 20 world leaders to address the unfolding crisis in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s participation had reportedly been confirmed in a phone call between Trump and Sisi on Monday morning.
However, diplomatic tensions flared mid-air when Erdogan, en route to the summit, made clear that he would “not land his plane in Sharm el-Sheikh if the invitation stood” for the Israeli leader, added the report.
According to the report, it remains unclear whether Erdogan’s objection directly led to Netanyahu’s withdrawal, but sources confirmed he raised his concerns with Sisi from his aircraft while flying over Egypt.
The Israeli prime minister’s office released a statement explaining the decision to pull out of the summit.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu was invited by US President Trump to participate in a conference taking place today in Egypt. The prime minister thanked President Trump for his invitation but stated that he would not be able to attend due to the proximity of the event to the start of the holiday,” read the statement.
The political fallout was not limited to diplomatic tensions.
Far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition had threatened to resign if he attended the summit, underscoring divisions within Israel’s government amid increasing international pressure over its military operations in Gaza.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsNetanyahu’s attendance would also have posed a diplomatic dilemma for several Arab states.
Although Egypt is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court, the Israeli leader is the subject of ICC arrest warrants for alleged war crimes in Gaza — a fact that could have made his presence at the summit particularly contentious among countries that have not normalised ties with Israel.
The incident marks a dramatic turn in the already volatile diplomatic landscape surrounding the Gaza conflict and underscores the fragile alliances and competing interests at play in the region.
With inputs from agencies