Netanyahu's unusually long flight to New York for UN speech tied to ICC arrest risk and Gaza messaging
Flight path data show detour to avoid ICC member states; timing comes as Western powers recognize a Palestinian state and Netanyahu emphasizes Gaza messaging ahead of his UN appearance.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew unusually long to New York for the United Nations General Assembly address, with flight-tracking data showing his plane detouring to avoid routing over France and Spain amid concerns over potential arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court. The trip, taken on the aircraft known as Wing of Zion, came as Netanyahu sought to deliver a UN speech that Israeli officials have described as aimed at audiences inside Gaza.
European Union members France and Spain are among ICC members; the court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024. Observers noted that the route appeared designed to reduce the likelihood of a forced emergency landing in a country that could enforce any ICC warrant.
Anshel Pfeffer, Netanyahu’s biographer and a correspondent for The Economist, commented on social media that the route demonstrated how Netanyahu has navigated Israel’s international isolation. Yanir Cozin, a correspondent with Israel’s army radio, posted that the detour was chosen to avoid a situation in which an emergency landing would be required in a country that would enforce ICC warrants.
Two Israeli officials told CNN that Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli Defense Forces to broadcast his UN General Assembly remarks across the Gaza Strip, a move described as intended to address Gaza residents rather than Hamas. The approach underscores a broader strategy to shape messaging inside Gaza while the war with Hamas continues.
The speech came at a tense moment for Israel as several Western nations— including the United Kingdom, France, and Canada— formally recognized a Palestinian state at the UN earlier in the week, further isolating Israel in the diplomatic landscape two years into its war with Hamas.
At a government meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu vowed to fight back against what he characterized as slanderous propaganda aimed at opposing his policies, including calls from international organizations to establish a Palestinian state. He argued such a move would endanger Israel and described it as an absurd prize for terrorism.
Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, were photographed at Ben Gurion Airport before departing for the United States, signaling the start of a trip that blended diplomacy with a controversial stand against broader Palestinian statehood efforts.
