Emirati leaders invite Israel’s Netanyahu, Herzog, to join COP28 climate conference in Dubai

By LAURIE KELLMAN
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister has received a long-sought invitation to visit the United Arab Emirates. Emirati leaders have extended the invitation to Benjamin Netanyahu and figurehead President Isaac Herzog on Monday to attend the U.N climate conference in Dubai in November. Netanyahu has not said whether he will attend. Visiting the UAE had been a top priority when the premier took office this year. The plan was postponed reportedly after National Security Minister and right-wing firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, in what is widely viewed as a provocation. The same site is known as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third-holiest site in Islam.