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The plane carrying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States again crossed the airspace of Greece, Italy and France despite an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
Netanyahu’s aircraft departed Israel early on Thursday for the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. All three European countries are parties to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.
States party to the treaty are generally required to cooperate with ICC requests to arrest and surrender individuals wanted by the court if they are found on their territory. However, the treaty does not explicitly require a member state to intercept or force down an aircraft solely because it is carrying a person subject to an ICC arrest warrant.
Netanyahu’s previous routes
The Israeli leader’s plane followed a similar route during his trip to the United States in July, also crossing Greek, Italian and French airspace.
During Netanyahu’s visit to the United States in September 2025 for the previous UN General Assembly, his aircraft flew over the Mediterranean Sea and through the Strait of Gibraltar, apparently avoiding the European airspace used on this occasion.
On November 21, 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
US arrival and planned UN address
Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Wednesday that Netanyahu would not arrive at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York because of concerns that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani might not allow the aircraft to remain on the tarmac.
The newspaper said the plane would instead land either at a military airport in New Jersey, which is under the exclusive control of the federal government under the Trump administration, or at Newark Airport in the neighbouring state.
Netanyahu is scheduled to address the 81st session of the UN General Assembly at 2 p.m. New York time, or 1800 GMT, on Thursday.
His visit comes amid expectations of protests in New York over Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip and its attacks in the occupied West Bank.
Israel has been conducting military operations in Gaza since October 8, 2023. According to the source, nearly 74,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 175,000 injured, most of them women and children.
The source also said that about 90% of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure had been destroyed, while the UN has estimated reconstruction costs at approximately $70 billion.
At the same time, attacks by the Israeli army and settlers against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have intensified, prompting increasing international condemnation in recent months.
