Canada, France, Italy and Greece allow Netanyahu’s overflight despite ICC warrant

Canada, France, Italy and Greece allow Netanyahu’s overflight despite ICC warrant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew over Greece, Italy, France and Canada on Thursday on his way to address the UN, despite an International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Gaza since October 2023. Netanyahu arrived in the US for a short visit to address the UN General Assembly in New York, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he does not have the authority to arrest the Israeli leader.

But he urged the US government to implement the arrest warrant, saying it is justified. "My administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here," Mamdani said in a video address in July after President Donald Trump said Netanyahu would not be arrested. "It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant.

The federal government, however, does, and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant." (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); While the US is not a member of the ICC, Canada, Italy, France and Greece (and all EU countries) are members of the war crimes court and are legally obliged to enforce the warrants. The four countries have repeatedly faced criticism over permitting Netanyahu to use their airspace several times since the warrants were issued. Flight trackers on Thursday showed his government aircraft, Wing of Zion, crossing all three EU countries before heading over the Atlantic and into Canadian airspace, raising legal questions over the ICC members’ alleged breach of international law.

Canada’s foreign minister, Anita Anand, said on Wednesday that she had asked officials to check its planned route. But she did not reply to questions on whether Canada sees Netanyahu as a war criminal. “Our position is … to respect decisions of international courts and … to suppor…