Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering skipping a stop in Europe on his way to the US amid fears the International Criminal Court (ICC) is poised to issue an arrest warrant against him over Israeli army crimes in Gaza.
Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to the US and deliver a speech before the US Congress on July 24. He is also expected to meet US President Joe Biden at the White House.
On May 20, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallad for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. Khan also sought warrants for three of the group’s top Hamas leaders, including its leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said Netanyahu’s office had considered stopping in Europe en route to Washington, as his plane, known as the Wing of Zion, cannot make a transatlantic flight carrying a full load of passengers.
His office considered the option of having a stopover in the Czech Republic or Hungary, as those two countries are considered friends of Israel, and called the ICC’s arrest requests “unacceptable,” according to KAN.
Read: Netanyahu insists Gaza deal must allow Israel to resume fighting
However, he noted that Netanyahu’s office ultimately decided to go on a direct flight to Washington with a limited number of passengers.
Although the US is not a member of the ICC, receiving Netanyahu despite an international arrest warrant could expose it to criticism.
Israel is also not a member of the court, while Palestine was admitted as a member in 2015.
Established in 2002, the ICC is an independent international organization not affiliated with the United Nations or any other international institution, and its decisions are binding.
Israel, in defiance of a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal assault on Gaza since the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.
Nearly 38,200 Palestinians have been killed since then, mostly women and children, and more than 87,900 injured, according to local health authorities.
Nine months into the Israeli war, vast swaths of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge from war before its May 6 invasion.
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