AN Israeli minister has hit out at the UN after she could not attend the COP26 summit yesterday because it was not wheelchair accessible.

Karine Elharrar tweeted saying it was "sad" the UN does "not provide accessibility to its events". 

According to the BBC, an official in Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's delegation said they had formally complained to organisers.

And the Prime Minister's official added he would not attend on Tuesday if Ms Elharrar could not access the summit.

UK ambassador to Israel Neil Wigan tweeted that he had apologised "deeply and sincerely" to the minister.

He wrote: "We want a COP Summit that is welcoming and inclusive to everyone."

 

Ms Elharrar reportedly told Israel's Channel 12 that she could not get onto the grounds of the conference because the only options were to either walk or take a shuttle that was not suitable for a wheelchair.

Her office told the Times of Israel she waited outside the venue in Glasgow for two hours, and she was eventually forced to return to her hotel in the Scottish capital Edinburgh 80km (50 miles) away.

James Cleverly, a UK foreign office minister, said he was "deeply disappointed and frustrated" Ms Elharrar could not access the summit.

He tweeted: "The COP venue is designed to be accessible for all. I have spoken to the Minister about this and I look forward to meeting her tomorrow."

 

Pam Duncan-Glancy, a Labour MSP for Glasgow and also a wheelchair user, also criticised the "epic planning failure".

She wrote on Twitter "This is outrageous.

"From travel to the conference in an inaccessible shuttle (like, seriously) to no one being able to direct to the accessible route, this is an epic planning failure.

"We cannot have climate justice without social justice. They need to sort this ASAP."

An official in the Israeli PM's delegation said Mr Bennett had told Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the incident, and Mr Johnson had invited Ms Elharrar to join a meeting between the two prime ministers on Tuesday.