Netanyahu’s plane avoids France in flight to meet Trump in US

{"text":[[{"start":10.29,"text":"Benjamin Netanyahu’s flight to the US on Thursday avoided flying over France and much of continental Europe following a diplomatic rupture between the historic allies and the Israeli prime minister, who is subject to an international arrest warrant over the war in Gaza."}],[{"start":30.119999999999997,"text":"While the standard flight path from Israel to New York transits over France, the Israeli premier’s “Wing of Zion” plane took a longer and circuitous route above the Mediterranean Sea, according to flight tracking websites such as FlightAware and a person familiar with Israeli government thinking."}],[{"start":51.459999999999994,"text":"The plane passed through the Strait of Gibraltar to the Atlantic Ocean and traversed briefly over Greece and Italy."}],[{"start":58.589999999999996,"text":"The International Criminal Court in November issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, alleging that Israel had committed war crimes and other crimes against humanity in its offensive in Gaza following Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack."}],[{"start":79.97999999999999,"text":"On at least one occasion since, Netanyahu’s flight path to the US avoided various European states that are party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC and obligates signatories to arrest the Israeli leader in the event of an emergency landing."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":100.07,"text":"Netanyahu is set to give a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday, followed by a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday. It will mark the fourth such meeting between the pair since Trump returned to office in January, the most by any foreign leader."}],[{"start":121.14999999999999,"text":"Relations between Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron have deteriorated in recent months, with Israel escalating its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and Macron — along with Saudi Arabia — spearheading an initiative to recognise Palestinian statehood."}],[{"start":139.79999999999998,"text":"Several states, including France, the UK, Canada, and Australia, have in recent days recognised the state of Palestine. They have also called for an end to the Gaza war and Israeli land seizures and other violations in the occupied West Bank, which they say have imperilled the prospects for a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":165.79,"text":"Prior to his departure from Tel Aviv early Thursday morning, Netanyahu hit out at leaders who recognised a Palestinian state, saying he would use his UN address to “denounce those leaders”, who he has accused of rewarding Hamas by giving them “a state in the heart of the Land of Israel. This will not happen.”"}],[{"start":187.34,"text":"In a break with protocol, no journalists were invited on Wing of Zion for the flight due to unspecified “security concerns”, according to the person familiar with Israeli government thinking."}],[{"start":200.14000000000001,"text":"Israeli media and flight analysts speculated that the modern and spacious Boeing 767 passenger jet, which came into commission last year, needed to carry extra fuel for the longer route."}],[{"start":214.59,"text":"One French diplomatic source said Netanyahu was granted authorisation to fly over France’s airspace but “decided to take another route”."}],[{"start":224.28,"text":"Additional reporting by Mehul Srivastava in Predore"}],[{"start":237.76,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftmailbox.cn/album/a_1758841655_7428.mp3"}