October 14, 2025 | 05:11 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - United States President Donald Trump's last-minute plan to invite Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu to the multinational Gaza summit in Egypt was forced to be canceled. As reported by The Times of Israel and Daily Sabah on Monday night, this came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened not to land his plane in Sharm el-Sheikh if the invitation remained valid.
According to Turkish media, President Erdogan immediately reacted upon hearing reports of Netanyahu's expected presence on the trip to Egypt. As the Turkish presidential plane prepared to land, Erdogan reportedly ordered the pilot to remain airborne, instructing the plane to orbit above the Red Sea.
The struggle for airspace began after it was announced that the Israeli Prime Minister had received a sudden invitation from Trump to the conference led jointly by the U.S. President and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, in Egypt.
Netanyahu's attendance at the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh seemed to have been confirmed by Trump through a phone call from Israel on Monday morning with Sisi.
It is unclear whether Erdogan's refusal to attend the summit caused Netanyahu to change his plans. However, Erdogan spoke to Sisi to convey his objection from his plane over Egypt.
CNN reported that Turkey also informed the United States that Netanyahu should not be allowed to participate in the Egyptian summit.
The media network said that Egypt's invitation to Netanyahu, apparently mediated by the U.S., led to threats of boycott from Turkey and other Muslim countries.
In addition to Erdogan, right-wing extremist figures in Netanyahu's coalition government also threatened to resign if he attended the conference.
Shortly after the warning from Ankara, Netanyahu's office issued a statement stating that he canceled his plans to attend due to the holiday of Simhat Torah, which began Monday night.
"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," the statement read.
After the announcement from Netanyahu's office, Erdogan's plane landed in Egypt.
A warrant for the arrest from the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been issued against Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Although Egypt is not a signatory to the court, its presence at the summit will stir controversy, including among Arab countries that have not normalized relations with Israel.
More than 20 world leaders attended the hastily arranged summit.
The dispute over Netanyahu's attendance shows how difficult it is for some Muslim countries to normalize relations with Israel as desired by Trump.
Photos of Erdogan negotiating with Netanyahu or shaking hands with the Israeli leader would have a negative impact on the Turkish leader domestically. It would also raise questions about Ankara's plan in the international stabilization force that will maintain security in Gaza.
Erdogan has repeatedly referred to Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide.
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