Donald Trump’s peace summit in Egypt was apparently full of drama after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly threatened to turn back mid-flight if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in attendance.
Erdogan called Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi from his plane as it was preparing to land in Cairo on Sunday for the Gaza summit, reported The Times of Israel.
The Turkish leader reportedly said that he would travel back to Ankara if Netanyahu were allowed to attend the event. CNN also reported that Turkey told the U.S. that Netanyahu shouldn’t participate in the summit.
President Trump offered a last-minute invite to Netanyahu, hoping to enact his plan quietly, only for it to blow up in his face after Erdogan’s pushback.
Netanyahu ultimately declined, citing the proximity of a Jewish holiday as the reason for his absence. However, it’s believed that Erdogan’s outburst played a massive role.
Trump spoke at the Knesset to celebrate the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, before travelling to Egypt for the high-stakes summit of regional world leaders.
It came as 20 surviving Israeli hostages were released in a ceasefire exchange. In his speech, Trump called the ceasefire a “historic dawn.”
According to the Guardian, inviting Netanyahu to the event would have risked overshadowing the message and scaring off key attendees.
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The International Criminal Court has several arrest warrants issued for Netanyahu over his alleged war crimes in Gaza, and while Egypt isn’t a signatory to the court, his presence would have caused tension.
Erdogan’s threat highlighted how explosive his attendance would have been among Arab states that don’t have ties with Israel.
Far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition government also threatened to resign if he was at the conference, the outlet reported.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu was invited by U.S. President Trump to participate in a conference taking place today in Egypt,” read a statement from Netanyahu’s office. “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.”
If Erdogan had been seen shaking hands with the Israeli leader, it would have been disastrous for him, leading to questions about Ankara’s role in the international stabilisation force to look after security in Gaza.
Erdogan has called Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide several times.
While speaking to reporters in Egypt, Trump said, “You have some of the wealthiest nations in the world, all leaders, the big leaders are here. The emirs and kings and everybody. It is an interesting group.
“We have 35 countries, and that’s only because they were the 35 that we invited. Everybody that we invited came. So there is a lot of respect.”