Israeli PM Netanyahu’s aircraft followed an unconventional path to New York on Thursday, avoiding several European nations while heading to the UN General Assembly.Despite French authorities confirming permission for Israeli aircraft access, as confirmed by a French diplomatic source to AFP, tracking information revealed Netanyahu’s aircraft opted for a southern trajectory. The flight path traversed Greece and Italy, proceeded southward via the Strait of Gibraltar, before crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

The flight took a circuitous route to avoid countries where an outstanding arrest warrant for alleged war crimes could be enforced, according to CNN.This comes as several nations, including Britain, France and Portugal, officially acknowledged Palestinian statehood this week, a development strongly contested by Netanyahu. Ireland and Spain had previously extended their recognition in May.In November, the ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and then-defence minister Yoav Gallant, citing alleged war crimes during Israel’s Gaza military campaign.Spain recently declared its backing for the ICC investigation and established a team to investigate potential human rights breaches in Gaza, as part of its broader initiative to influence Israel towards ending hostilities.Netanyahu’s schedule includes delivering an address at the UN General Assembly on Friday, followed by a planned White House meeting with US President Donald Trump in the coming week.