Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering avoiding a stopover in Europe on his way to the US over fears that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is readying to issue an arrest warrant against him over the Israeli army’s crimes in Gaza according to Anadolu.
Netanyahu is to travel to the US and deliver a speech before the US Congress on July 24. He is also expected to possibly meet US President Joe Biden.
But there is much speculation about his coming trip with many on the social media woundering how he will get to Washington amidst the logistics involved in flying non-stop.
On 20 May, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. Khan also requested warrants for three of the Hamas group’s top leaders including its chief Ismail Haniyeh.
Everyone is waiting for the arrest warrants to become effective and many think they could be any time soon.
Israeli KAN public broadcaster said Netanyahu’s office reviewed the matter of stopping in Europe on his way to Washington as his plane is unable to make a transatlantic flight while carrying a full load of passengers.
His office reviewed the option of a stopover in the Czech Republic or Hungary; these two countries are seen as Israeli friends and called ICC arrest requests “unacceptable.”
KAN, however, noted Netanyahu in the end decided to go for a direct flight to Washington with a limited number of passengers on board.
While the US is not an ICC member, receiving Netanyahu despite an international arrest warrant could expose it to much criticism.
Israel also is not an ICC member, whereas Palestine was accepted as an affiliate in 2015.
Set up in 2002, the ICC is an independent international body not affiliated with the UN or any other international organization, and its decisions are binding.
Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.
Nearly 38,200 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,900 others injured, according to local health authorities the Turkish News agency reported.
Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the ICC, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6 according to the Turkish news agency.
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