Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to abandon his planned visit to Azerbaijan earlier this week after Turkey refused to allow his plane to enter its airspace, New Arab reported.

Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Gaza, was supposed to travel to Baku for talks with President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday and stay through to the weekend.

In a statement on Saturday, his office said that the visit had been cancelled, blaming a "tight political and security schedule" and developments in Gaza and Syria.

However, Israeli outlet Walla said the trip was called off after Turkey blocked the prime minister's plane from using its airspace.