Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is joining the list of world leaders who will not be attending a parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, The Jerusalem Post reports.

The parade is scheduled for Saturday, May 9, which corresponds to the date of Germany's surrender in Russia. The official time of surrender was 11:01 p.m. Central European Time on May 8, 1945.

President Barack Obama, French President François Hollande and German Chancelor Angela Merkel all have said they will not attend. Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un do plan to attend.

Twenty-six countries have said they will have representation.

Russia has struggled to get world leaders who oppose its incursion into Ukraine to attend the ceremony, a major event in Russia where the war is called the Great Patriotic War and is regarded much like the Fourth of July is in America.

Israel has not been as vocal on the Ukraine-Russian fighting, opting to maintain ties in both countries because of their respective Jewish populations. Israel's ambassador to Russia will attend the parade, though not its foreign minister, the Post reports.

The event falls on the Jewish Sabbath, and although Israeli officials typically do not break the Sabbath publicly, they do sometimes take great pains to attend such events while still keeping the Sabbath, the Post notes.

Israel will hold its own commemoration of Thursday, May 7.

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