Israel's energy minister said she couldn't attend the start of COP26 because her wheelchair couldn't get in

• Israel's energy minister was stuck outside the first day of COP26 as her wheelchair could not get in.
• Her office said she waited outside for two hours before going back to her hotel in another city.

Israel's energy minister said she couldn't attend the first day of the COP26 climate conference because she could not enter in her wheelchair.

Karine Elharrar's office told the Times of Israel that she was barred from entering the conference site in her own vehicle.

Her staff said that Elharrar was offered a shuttle to take her to the venue, but she was unable to take it because it wasn't wheelchair accessible.

After a two-hour delay, she returned to her hotel in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, some 50 miles away.

She told Israel's Channel 12 news, according to Reuters: "The only way they said I could come in was to walk on foot for almost a kilometer, or to board a shuttle which was not wheelchair accessible."

Elharrar, who has muscular dystrophy, tweeted on Monday: "I came to COP26 to meet with my counterparts around the world and promote a common struggle in the climate crisis.

"It is sad that the UN, which promotes accessibility for people with disabilities, in 2021, does not provide accessibility to its events.

"Hopefully the lessons learned will be learned so that tomorrow green energy promotion, removal of barriers and energy efficiency will be the things I will deal with."

An Israeli official said that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's delegation complained to the event's organisers, and that Bennett said he would not attend the event on Tuesday if Elharrar was not able to get in, the BBC reported.

Elharrar was at the event on Tuesday.

George Eustice, the UK's environment minister, told the BBC that the UK government had apologized to Elharrar, calling the incident "deeply regrettable."

Eustice said that normally visiting governments would let the hosts know in advance if they needed to be accommodate, but that "there was obviously something that went wrong in this instance."

He said that most entrances to the conference are wheelchair accessible, though not the one where Elharrar went.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized to Elharrar on Tuesday. He walked up to her at the event, and said: "I gather there was some confusion with the arrangements yesterday. I'm very, very sorry about that."