Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Monday that he will not attend a summit in Egypt later today on the Israel-Hamas war due to a Jewish holiday.
Egypt’s presidency had earlier said that both Netanyahu and Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, would be at the summit in Sharm-el-Sheikh. It would have been the first time the two had met since the 2015 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris.
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The summit, which is being attended by leaders from around the world, is to discuss the next phase in U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace deal and postwar plans.
The statement from Netanyahu’s office said: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited by U.S. President @realDonaldTrump to attend today’s conference in Egypt.
“The Prime Minister thanked President Trump for the invitation but said he will be unable to attend due to time constraints ahead of the start of the holiday.”
A second statement said: “Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked President Trump for his efforts to expand the circle of peace – peace through strength.”
The Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah ends the weeklong Sukkot holiday. It was on this holiday in 2023 that Hamas launched the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the Israel-Hamas war.
Netanyahu Celebrates Release of Hostages with Trump
On Monday, Hamas released all 20 remaining living hostages as part of the ceasefire pausing two years of war that have devastated the Gaza Strip.
Trump was in Israel to celebrate the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.
He stated the deal had effectively ended the war and that a new chapter for the Middle East had begun.
Under the deal, Israel released over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and is to allow aid supplies into Gaza.
Trump: Peace for Entire Middle East
Trump was expected to declare “the historic dawn of a new Middle East” in his speech at the Knesset and that “generations from now, this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change,” according to excerpts released by the White House.
“After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today, the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace,” he was expected to say.
“Israel has won all that can be won by force of arms. Now, it is time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East.”