FRANCE, Greece and Italy have all allowed Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fly across their airspace despite an outstanding International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.
Netanyahu's government aircraft, known as the “Wing of Zion,” reportedly passed through the three European countries, who are all state parties who have accepted the rules of the Rome Statute that established the ICC, while he travelled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024, alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Israel's war on Gaza.
Israel has repeatedly rejected the allegations and has disputed the court's jurisdiction.
It comes after the UK sent a spy plane to Israel on Tuesday, despite the Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband saying earlier this month the UK would “reset” its policy on Israel.
Miliband announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as he accused Israel's government of turning a blind eye to the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians by settlers.
He said the move marked the “beginning of a new approach” – sparking backlash from Israel and claims from some Jewish organisations that such measures will fuel antisemitism or endanger British Jews.
But Miliband, who describes himself as a “proud British Jew”, rejected the suggestion.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
Just weeks after Miliband announced the sanctions, an RAF cargo plane flew from Cyprus on to Nevatim airbase, home to Israel's F-35 fleet.
According to Declassified UK, which first reported the story, an RAF spokesperson said the flight was “routine activity to support UK Defence requirements”.
The media outlet added that a defence source said Tuesday night's flight was transporting equipment for a UK defence capability programme.
Following the UK announcement of sanctions against Israel, the country’s president Isaac Herzog hit back, saying it “would be a gross interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation” as the country prepares to go to the polls next month.
He also claimed such a step would harm Palestinians.
“If this happens – and other nations may join – I believe it will prove to be a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history,” he said.
Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar meanwhile warned: “If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain.”
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also called the sanctions an “irrational action”.
“I feel like it’s discrimination against the Israeli government. It’s a discrimination against the Jewish people,” he told the BBC’s Today programme.
He added: “I also would tell you that I don’t know if they have thought it through. It’s like throwing a stone and not having an idea of where it’s going to land.
“And I realise, look, the UK is a sovereign country; they can do what they want, but so can the US.”
