Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu avoided an uncomfortable encounter with Pakistan’s prime minister. Photo: Screenshot.

The team assisting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his stay in New York City this week for the U.N. General Assembly cancelled his dinner reservation at a Manhattan restaurant on Tuesday night after discovering that Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would be dining there that evening, the New York Post reported.

Netanyahu had reserved tables at the Italian eatery, Serafina Always, “But decided not to proceed, after learning the Pakistani pol would be there,” a source told the Post. The insider said the decision to cancel was made “for security reasons.”

A source added, “Netanyahu has the best security in the world. But one can assume that it wouldn’t make sense for him to be at a restaurant at the same time as Sharif.”

Sharif, on the other hand, dined at the midtown establishment for three hours with his wife, ten other members of his entourage, and a hefty security detail, which sat at two separate tables, according to a witness.

Pakistan and Israel currently have no diplomatic relations. The Pakistani leader has been a harsh critic of Israel, accusing the Jewish state of “naked and brutal aggression” during last summer’s Operation Protective Edge aimed at halting rocket fire from Gaza.

Netanyahu addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, where he railed against the international body for its support of the Iran nuclear deal and its anti-Israel bias.