ICC arrest warrants: Netanyahu avoids French airspace for first time en route to US

The plane carrying Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the UN General Assembly in New York has avoided French airspace, flying only over Greece and Italy, flight trackers show.

Netanyahu was issued an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in November 2024, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Gaza since October 2023.

All EU countries, including Italy, France and Greece, are members of the ICC and are legally obliged to enforce the warrants, though Hungary, an Israeli ally, has officially begun the process of withdrawal from the ICC.

However, Italy, France and Greece have permitted Netanyahu to use their airspace several times since the warrants were issued.

This is the first time he has avoided French airspace since the warrants, amid growing international opposition to the genocide in Gaza and as France, the UK and other western allies have announced their recognition of Palestinian statehood.

The Jerusalem Post reported last week that Netanyahu’s Wing of Zion plane would take a longer route than originally planned, due to concerns that European countries may not grant it overflight permission.

“The route change is linked to political tensions related to the war in Gaza, and to speculation that countries that are members of the International Criminal Court may deny overflight to individuals facing legal action,” the Post reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

'He could be arrested as a war criminal'
Netanyahu’s flight to the US in February also took a longer route due to arrest fears, according to Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter.

It was his first trip abroad since the ICC issued the arrest warrant against him and then-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over the central charge of the use of starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.