Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at Washington D.C. airport in the U.S. on the evening of the 6th (local time). Yonhap News. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is visiting the United States to address the issue of tariff hikes, took a lengthy detour to avoid potential execution of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), as reported by the Times of Israel and others on the 7th (local time).

After completing his schedule in Hungary the previous day, Netanyahu immediately boarded Israel's presidential jet, 'Wings of Zion,' and arrived in the U.S. by flying over Southern Europe.

The shortest flight path from Budapest, Hungary, to Washington D.C. passes over the airspace of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the waters off Iceland.

However, given that these countries have stated their intention to enforce the arrest warrant issued by the ICC for Prime Minister Netanyahu, it appears that Netanyahu could not ignore the possibility of an emergency landing in one of these countries during his flight.

Ultimately, Netanyahu chose a detour through countries that granted airspace access to 'Wings of Zion,' such as Croatia, Italy, and France, increasing the flight distance by approximately 400 km compared to the shortest route.

In May of last year, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu, then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas on charges of war crimes, and the ICC court issued the warrants in November of the same year.

According to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC, the 124 member states are, in principle, obligated to execute arrest warrants issued by the ICC.

However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that he would not execute the ICC warrant and invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to his country. Immediately after Netanyahu's arrival in Budapest on the 3rd, Orbán announced Hungary's withdrawal from the ICC.

The United States also added Prosecutor Khan to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list in February.

Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House today to discuss the issue of the 17% reciprocal tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Israel and to issue a joint statement. He also plans to meet with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and others to discuss Middle Eastern affairs, including the war in Gaza.

Yonhap News