Israel's energy minister claims she was unable to participate in the United Nation's COP26 summit in Glasgow on Monday because the transportation offered to her was not accessible by wheelchair.
Karine Elharrar told Israel's Channel 12 she could not reach the conference grounds because the only options to get there from the gathering area were to walk or board a shuttle that was not suited for a wheelchair.
Elharrar wrote on Twitter : "I came to COP26 to meet my counterparts in the world and advance our joint struggle against the climate crisis.
"It's sad that the United Nations, which promotes accessibility for people with disabilities, in 2021 doesn't worry about accessibility at its own events."
She said she hoped a solution would be found by Tuesday.
Israel's foreign minister called out the conference organisers, saying: "It is impossible to worry about the future, the climate and about people if we do not first take care of human beings, accessibility and disabilities."
The British ambassador to Israel, Neil Wigan, apologised for the mishap.
"I am disturbed to hear that Karine Elharrar was unable to attend meetings at COP26. I apologise deeply and sincerely to the minister. We want a COP Summit that is welcoming and inclusive to everyone," Wigan said on Twitter.
UK Foreign Office minister James Cleverly said he was "deeply disappointed and frustrated" that Ms Elharrar could not access the summit.
He wrote on Twitter: "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."
An official in the Israeli PM's delegation said Mr Bennett had told Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the incident, the BBC reported.
Mr Johnson had invited Ms Elharrar to join a meeting between the two prime ministers on Tuesday, the report added.
Some 25,000 negotiators and hangers-on will try to wrestle more money and pledges out of rich nations at COP26.
The UN summit is aiming to “keep 1.5 alive” - limit global temperature rises to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
But it could currently hit 2.7C by 2100 and a gloomy UK source told the Mirror it'll be a success "if we can get closer to 2C than we are to 3C" this fortnight.
Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, Prince Charles and Sir David Attenborough are attending the glittering event, though the Queen has pulled out due to health issues.
The 12-day summit is the 26th COP, which means “conference of the parties” to the UN Framework on climate change.
It is being held at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC), which includes a 3,000-seat auditorium, 14,300-capacity arena and five exhibition and meeting spaces.
This year the UK has the Presidency of COP - with the gavel coming down on Friday 12 November.
But the leaders of China, Russia, Brazil and Turkey are not attending.
