A last-minute plan by Donald Trump to invite Benjamin Netanyahu to a multinational Gaza summit in Egypt had to be aborted after the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said he would not land his plane in Sharm el-Sheikh if the invitation stood.
Netanyahu’s presence at the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh had apparently been sealed by Trump in a phone call from Israel on Monday morning with Sisi.
A statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office said: “Prime Minister Netanyahu was invited by US President Trump to participate in a conference taking place today in Egypt.
The row about Netanyahu’s presence shows how hard it will be for some Muslim countries to normalise relations with Israel in the way Trump wants.
Erdoğan has repeatedly called Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey, threatened to refuse to land his plane in Sharm el-Sheikh if Donald Trump’s last-minute invitation to Benjamin Netanyahu to a multinational Gaza summit in Egypt went through.
Trump’s late invitation to the conference being co-chaired by the US president and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, in Egypt was accepted by the Israeli prime minister, sparking the mid-air power struggle.
Trump reportedly sealed Netanyahu’s attendance at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit by calling Sisi from Israel on Monday morning.
Netanyahu reportedly spoke to Sisi to voice his concerns from his plane over Egypt, though it is unclear if this was due to Erdoğan’s refusal to land for the summit.
Prime Minister Netanyahu was invited by US President Trump to attend a conference being held in Egypt today, according to a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office. The prime minister thanked President Trump for the invitation, but he said that because the event was so close to the holiday’s start, he would not be able to go. “”.
Additionally, Netanyahu’s coalition government’s far-right figures had threatened to quit if he attended the conference.
Although Egypt is not a signatory to the international criminal court, warrants for Netanyahu’s arrest have been issued for alleged war crimes in Gaza. His attendance at the summit would have been controversial, especially among the Arab nations that have not normalized relations with Israel. It was anticipated that over 20 world leaders would attend the hurriedly planned summit.
Some Muslim nations will find it difficult to normalize relations with Israel in the manner that Trump desires, as demonstrated by the controversy surrounding Netanyahu’s presence.
Images showing Erdoğan shaking hands with the Israeli leader or negotiating with Netanyahu would have been disastrous for the Turkish leader at home and raised concerns about Ankara’s intended participation in the international stabilization force tasked with maintaining security in Gaza. Erdoğan has frequently referred to Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide.
