Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
was accused by an Israeli news outlet of taking a flight detour on his way to the US to avoid passing countries that had declared they would follow the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).Israeli newspaper Maariv
said that Netanyahu took “an unusual flight path” bypassing much of continental Europe.According to
Maariv, flights from Israel to Washington would usually pass over the Mediterranean Sea, over Greece or Turkey, then cross Italy, Switzerland, France, or Germany, to then enter the Canadian airspace and continue southward toward Washington.Animation from Flightradar23, illustrating a playback of Netanyahu’s flight path, shows that instead the flight only passed over Greece, Italy, and France, before flying a long leg over the ocean and landing in Washington.France, Germany, and Italy have been noncommittal regarding their obligations in response to the warrant, according to
news reports.Netanyahu was in Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump about the second phase of the ceasefire agreement. He
wrote on X that “the fact that this would be President Trump’s first meeting with a foreign leader since his inauguration is telling.” Credit: Flightradar24.com via Storyful