Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has prevented Israeli President Isaac Herzog from attending the signing ceremony of the Charter of the Peace Council in Davos, Israeli television Channel 12 reported.
According to his sources, the White House sent Netanyahu an invitation stating that the prime minister, the president or another representative could participate in the ceremony. Netanyahu himself was unable to attend Davos due to an active arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for his involvement in war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
According to Channel 12, Washington administration officials twice approached Israel in the hope of seeing Herzog, who was at the World Economic Forum in Davos at the time, at the Charter signing ceremony in Netanyahu's absence. The two sides engaged in tense discussions, with Netanyahu insisting that the invitation from US President Donald Trump was addressed to him personally and ultimately effectively blocking Herzog from attending the ceremony, the channel reported.
As a result, Israel was not represented at all at the signing ceremony of the charter of the Peace Council, whose primary mission is to resolve the conflict in the Gaza Strip and the post-war reconstruction of this Palestinian enclave. According to Channel 12, the current situation “has created tension“ between the offices of the prime minister and the president in Israel, and between Netanyahu's office and the White House.
On January 22, representatives of 19 countries signed the charter of the Peace Council, created as part of the peace settlement in the Gaza Strip, on the sidelines of the Davos forum. Trump announced that other countries had joined the organization. The Peace Council was formed to govern Gaza, but it is also expected to participate in preventing and resolving conflicts in other regions.