Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Thursday, March 9, 2023
Netanyahu touches down in Rome ahead of meeting with Italian PM

File: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara depart for Rome on March 9, 2023. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
ROME — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lands in Rome, where he is slated to meet with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni tomorrow.
Netanyahu took a helicopter from Jerusalem to the airport earlier today due to mass anti-government protests aimed at blocking off the entrance to Ben Gurion Airport to prevent his trip.
The prime minister has faced criticism that he and his wife, Sara, are once again spending a weekend in a European city on the public’s dime after a Friday meeting.