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ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu avoided Irish airspace on his flight from Hungary to the US on Sunday, adding hundreds of kilometres to his journey.
Travelling aboard the ‘Wing of Zion’, an Israeli State-owned Boeing aircraft, Netanyahu flew from Budapest to Washington DC for a meeting with Donald Trump, where the pair discussed tariffs, Iran and Gaza.
Netanyahu’s flight diversion was done in order to avoid travelling over countries seen as likely to enforce the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
As Israel believes that Ireland, Iceland and the Netherlands would all enforce the ICC warrant, issued for alleged war crimes in Gaza, Wing of Zion instead flew over Croatia, Italy and France.
The flight path increased the journey from Budapest to Washington by some 400 kilometres.
Netanyahu can’t be arrested for simply being in the airspace – but if the plane needed to make an emergency landing, he may have been arrested if he had set foot in Ireland, the Netherlands or Iceland as the ICC warrant could have been acted upon.
The ICC issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for both Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.
Since then, Netanyahu has consistently taken longer flight paths to avoid jurisdictions that are signatories to the Rome Statute and have pledged to uphold the court’s decisions.
During his last US visit in February, Israeli ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter revealed that Netanyahu had taken a longer flight path to avoid landing in countries that would arrest him.
“When the prime minister came here last month, he had to fly 13-and-a-half hours – a trip that should take 12 hours – people don’t know this, but the reason is because he couldn’t land anywhere in Europe,” Leiter said during a press conference.
“He had just had surgery, he came with two doctors, and they told him he may have to land for treatment,” the ambassador added. “But if he were to land anywhere in Europe, he could be arrested as a war criminal. So he had to fly over American army bases.”
In the wake of the arrest warrants, a number of ICC member states announced that they would not arrest Netanyahu if he were to visit – including Hungary, who announced that they intend to leave the International Criminal Court during Netanyahu’s visit last week.
Since October 2023, all of Netanyahu’s flights to the US have crossed through Greece, Italy, and France, according to Israeli reports.
France, Italy and Greece are signatories of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court and grants it jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
As outlined by the Rome Statute, it is the duty of all 125 signatory states to exercise their criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes.
Essentially, all ICC member states are now required to arrest Netanyahu if they enter their territory.
Despite this, the French foreign ministry announced in November that the country would not arrest Netanyahu as the Israeli leader is covered by immunity that applies to states which are not a part of the ICC.
Israel is not a member of the ICC.
“A state cannot be held to act in a way that is incompatible with its obligations in terms of international law with regards to immunities granted to states which are not party to the ICC,” the French statement said.
“Such immunities apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other ministers in question, and must be taken into consideration should the ICC ask us to arrest them and hand them over,” it said.
Similarly, the Italian government has claimed that heads of state, including Netanyahu, have immunity during visits based on the Vienna Convention.
Greece has also rejected the warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest.
Greek government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis publicly questioned the effectiveness of the warrant shortly after it was issued, calling the action “a decision that will solve no problem.”
Ireland, meanwhile, has consistently backed the ICC’s decision on Netanyahu.
Tánaiste Simon Harris insisted after the ICC warrant was first issued that “those who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, must be held fully to account”.
Speaking after Hungary announced their departure from the ICC last week, Harris described the court as “the cornerstone of the international system of criminal justice”
“Ireland will continue to work with our international partners, including within the EU, to support the ICC in fulfilling its mandate,” he added.
Iceland and the Netherlands have also vocally backed the ICC warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest.
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said that his country “respects the independence of the ICC”, adding that the country “will act on the arrest warrants”.
“We fully comply with the Rome Statute of the ICC,’ he added.”
Iceland also pledged to honour the arrest warrant, with their Foreign Minister Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir saying that the country “respects the court’s rulings regardless of the individuals in question.”
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