Netanyahu took longer path on his way to Washington to avoid ICC arrest warrant: Media

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to take a longer path on his way to visit Washington from the Hungarian capital Budapest to avoid any case of emergency landing in countries that would enforce the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.

According to the Israeli daily Haaretz on Monday, Netanyahu's plane flew "through a flight path about 400 kilometers (248 miles) longer to avoid flying over countries that might enforce the ICC arrest warrant issued against him in the case of an emergency landing."

"Israel believed that countries like Ireland, Iceland, and the Netherlands could have acted to enforce the warrant," Haaretz also said.

It added that since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, on October 2023, all Netanyahu's flights to the US crossed through Greece, Italy, and France to the Atlantic Ocean and then to the US.

On his arrival in Washington, DC, Netanyahu was met with a protest demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange deal, Haaretz noted.

On Thursday, Netanyahu arrived in Budapest on an official visit, defying the ICC's arrest warrant issued against him over war crimes in Gaza. Following his arrival, the Hungarian government announced exiting the ICC.

Last November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel is facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its military actions in Gaza, where it has killed more than 50,700 people since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by the Palestinian group Hamas.