The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahuannounced again on Monday morning that he would not attend the summit on peace in Gaza convened in the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh.
His office reported that he had been invited by the American president, Donald Trumpbut that he declined the proposal “due to the proximity of the beginning of a Jewish holiday,” in reference to Simchat Torah, which marks the end of Sukkot.
Most likely, the prime minister wants to avoid, at this time, sharing the stage with the Palestinian Authority and some Europeans.
The absence of the Israeli leader was confirmed after the Turkish president, Tayyip Erdoganwarned Abdelfatah al-Sisi that he would not participate in the meeting “if any Israeli plane lands” on Egyptian soil. According to Turkish media, Erdogan’s presidential plane remained flying over the Red Sea for several minutes awaiting confirmation about the attendees.
Diplomatic sources cited by Reuters assure that Türkiye, with the support of Iraq, actively lobbied to prevent Netanyahu’s presence.
Baghdad also announced that it would abstain from participating in the meeting if the Israeli leader attended, according to Ali al Musawiadvisor to the Iraqi prime minister.
The summit, convened by Egypt with the support of Washington, seeks to consolidate the agreement that ends the war in Gaza and reinforce the commitments of the parties to the ceasefire. Representatives of several Arab countries and the United States are present, as well as the Palestinian Authority, headed by Mahmud Abbas.
Türkiye, critical of Israeli operations in Gaza for the last two years, has participated in negotiations in recent weeks with Qatar and Egypt to implement the plan promoted by Trump.
His role is particularly important because he maintains close ties with Hamas leaders, and aspires to play a relevant role in supervising the ceasefire and in future reconstruction agreements in the Palestinian enclave.