Boris Johnson apologizes to Israeli minister who could not attend COP26 due to wheelchair access issue

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has personally apologized to Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar, who was unable to attend the COP26 climate conference on Monday because of a lack of wheelchair access to the venue.

Johnson asked Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to invite Elharrar to join them in a meeting Tuesday. The UK leader personally apologized to Elharrar for the incident the previous day, according to a senior official with the Israeli delegation at COP.

Elharrar, who suffers from muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair, was unable to attend Monday's proceedings at the summit hosted in the Scottish city of Glasgow.

She traveled to the COP venue in Bennett's motorcade on Tuesday and was accompanied by the Israeli premier into the conference, the official said.

Bennett sharply criticized COP26 organizers for the access issue, and had threatened to cancel his appearance at the event Tuesday.

COP26 President Alok Sharma has repeatedly said that a fully inclusive conference was critical to the success of the climate conference.

CNN has reached out to the UK Prime Minister's office for comment.

According to an official traveling with Bennett's delegation to Scotland, Israeli officials spent two hours trying to get Elharrar into the COP venue Monday but "due to it not being fully wheelchair accessible, the efforts were unsuccessful and the Minister could not enter."

Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who is not part of the delegation, tweeted, "it is impossible to safeguard our future and address the climate crisis, without first and foremost caring for people, including ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities."

Britain's Ambassador in Tel Aviv, Neil Wigan, was quick to say sorry.

"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," he tweeted.