Israeli Prime Minister must have passed through France and Spain, but chose to change the route
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s flight to the United States followed a tortuous route in an apparent effort to avoid countries that could enforce a pending capture warrant for alleged war crimes.
Netanyahu left Telavive on Wednesday night to speak at the UN General Assembly and to meet with US President Donald Trump.
But its flight, which would usually fly over several European countries, traveled instead the full length of the Mediterranean Sea and the Gibraltar Strait, according to flight location sites.
The flight briefly flew over Greece and Italy, according to FlightTar24, but totally avoided the French and Spanish airspace, increasing the duration of the flight.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) did not publicly say why it took this unusual route and CNN contacted it to comment on the matter.
The PMO announced two weeks ago that some journalists and members of the Netanyahu entourage would not accompany him due to “places related to places and security.” Jerusalem Post reported that it was a way to compensate for the additional fuel required.
A French diplomatic source said France had accepted an Israeli request to fly over French airspace.
“They eventually decided to follow another route and we don’t know the reason,” said the diplomat.
Netanyahu’s last trip to the United States in July fell over Greece, Italy and France, according to ADS-B Exchange, another flight location site.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant of capture against Netanyahu last November for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. If Netanyahu flew over European countries, I could land and be arrested.
Neither Israel nor the United States are members of the ICC.
