Netanyahu flies to US via ICC member state airspace despite arrest warrant

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled from Tel Aviv to Miami on Sunday ahead of a scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump, prompting renewed scrutiny after his aircraft passed through the airspace of several International Criminal Court (ICC) member states without interruption.

Netanyahu is due to meet Trump on Monday at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, amid heightened regional tensions following Israel’s recent military operations in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon, and ongoing US efforts to advance a second phase of the Gaza ceasefire and peace framework.

According to flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24, the Israeli government aircraft, known as the Wing of Zion, flew over Greece, Italy and France during its journey to the United States.

The flight route has drawn attention because the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

ICC member states are legally obliged under the Rome Statute to arrest individuals subject to such warrants should they enter their jurisdiction.

In contrast, during a trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York last September, Netanyahu’s aircraft avoided the airspace of several European countries, including France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and the United Kingdom, all of which are ICC signatories. On that occasion, the plane flew only over Greece and Italy.

Commenting on the latest flight, international criminal lawyer and UN senior legal officer Johann Soufi criticised the apparent lack of enforcement. Writing on X, he said: “Wing of Zion, Benjamin Netanyahu’s plane, targeted by an arrest warrant from the ICC for crimes against humanity, quietly flies over French airspace en route to Florida. International justice in words, impunity in actions.”