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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend Monday’s peace conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will host more than 20 world leaders in a bid to cement an end to the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister was “unable to attend due to time constraints ahead of the start of the holiday.” October 13–15 marks Shemini Atzeret, followed by Simchat Torah on October 15.
Leader of Israel’s left-wing Democrats, Yair Golan, condemned the decision.
“I am appalled by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to skip this historic event orchestrated by President Trump. Let it be clear: Netanyahu’s refusal to attend the peace summit in Egypt is driven purely by narrow political interests,” he said in a statement to Fox News.
“After two years of Israel’s most difficult war, we can not afford a leader guided by his personal interest.”
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The summit, set in the Red Sea resort town, is expected to draw leaders from Turkey, Jordan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and top representatives from the United Nations and the European Union. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is also slated to attend as regional powers press for a role in stabilizing postwar Gaza.
The conference comes amid a renewed push by the Trump administration to expand the Abraham Accords framework once the conflict in Gaza is resolved. Four nations joined the normalization agreements with Israel during Trump’s first term, and senior White House officials have signaled optimism that additional Arab and Muslim-majority countries could follow.
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Adding to that momentum, Israeli media reported Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto—the leader of the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation—was expected to visit Israel on Tuesday, raising speculation that Indonesia could be next to pursue an Abraham Accords-style peace and normalization agreement with Jerusalem. But Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono told Indonesian media “no such plan” is in place for a visit.
Subianto surprised observers with unusually warm remarks toward Israel during his address to the United Nations General Assembly last month, closing his speech with the Hebrew word “Shalom.”
“We must also recognize, we must also respect, and we must also guarantee the safety and security of Israel,” Subianto said. “Only then can we have real peace.”
Fox News’ Yonat Friling contributed to this report.
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