Gehan al-Sadat rejects Israeli President invitation to visit Israel

CAIRO – 10 November 2017: Jehan Sadat, widow of the late President Anwar Sadat, rejected invitation from Israeli president Reuven Rivlin to attend the ceremony held at his own residence in Jerusalem that marks the 40th anniversary of Sadat's visit to Israel.

The Israeli channel 2 reported on Friday that Israeli president had asked the Egyptian Foreign Ministry to recommend a delegation of the Egyptian dignitaries to attend the ceremony scheduled to be held on November 22.

“Senior officials in the Egyptian government also turned down president’s invitation, explaining their stance by saying that the Egyptian Ambassador to Tel Aviv Hazem Khairat will be attending instead the ceremony.

On November 19, 1977, President Anwar el-Sadat visited Jerusalem and spoke before the Knesset to put an end to decades-long conflicts.