PM’s flight path to US avoids most countries’ airspace, potentially over ICC concerns

The path of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s flight to New York, where he will attend the UN General Assembly, avoids the airspace of all countries except Italy and Greece, despite the longer journey this entails.

The trajectory, visible on Flight Tracker, may be an effort to avoid problems related to the International Criminal Court’s warrant for his arrest over alleged Israeli war crimes in the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Many countries have said that pursuant to the ICC arrest — issued over alleged war crimes, which Israel denies — they would arrest Netanyahu if he were present on their soil.

France, which would normally be along the flight path, said last year it would not arrest the premier, though this drew a rebuke from the European Union.

The flight, on Israel’s Wing of Zion state plane, also appears to be avoiding the airspace of Spain, which has vowed to assist the ICC investigation.

When the premier flew to the US in February, that trip, too, was lengthened, in part over concerns about the ICC warrant. He also reportedly canceled a trip to Azerbaijan in May to avoid flying over Turkey, whose president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a fierce critic of Israel who has praised the Hamas terror group, welcomed the arrest warrant.