Netanyahu's unusual and secret flight to the United States

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to take an unusual route to reach the United States due to fear of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

According to the Hebrew media outlet Ma'ariv, Netanyahu, who was traveling to Washington on the "Wings of Zion" plane to meet with US President Donald Trump, was forced to take a longer route to avoid crossing the airspace of the European continent due to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court that has banned him from entering Europe.

Ma'ariv announced that Netanyahu's flight was not denied by "threatening" European countries.

According to the report, Netanyahu's flight landed in Washington after a 14-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean, bypassing European countries, and hiding from radar devices.

Air travel from the occupied territories to the United States usually begins by flying westward over the Mediterranean Sea, and depending on the flight route, the plane may pass through the airspace of Greece or Turkey, then countries such as Italy, Switzerland, France, or Germany, and then cross the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

The flight then enters Canadian airspace, usually flying over Newfoundland and Labrador, and flying southward over Canada, the northeastern region of the United States, until it reaches Washington.

While the flight path of the "Wings of Zion" plane shows that the pilots directed the plane towards Greece, then Rome, Turin, and Lyon, and then to the Atlantic Ocean.

The International Criminal Court recently issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes in Gaza.

39 European countries, including Germany, France and the UK, are signatories to the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court.

Netanyahu is not the only Israeli official to have been denied entry and forced to take a detour; Amichai Chikli, the Israeli cabinet’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs, was forced to cancel his trip to Brussels a few days ago following tangible security warnings and on orders from security officials.

This was reportedly the result of a complaint filed against Chikli by the Belgium-based Indian Human Rights Foundation Rajab.

Belgian authorities confirmed that Chikli did not enjoy legal immunity and as a result decided to cancel his planned trip to the country.