JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plane took an unusual route to New York on Thursday, skirting several European countries en route to the United Nations General Assembly.
Although France had authorized Israeli use of its airspace, according to a French diplomatic source who spoke to AFP, flight-tracking data showed Netanyahu’s aircraft instead took a southern path.
It crossed Greece and Italy, then veered south through the Strait of Gibraltar before heading across the Atlantic.
Britain, France and Portugal were among a string of countries to recognize a Palestinian state this week, a move Netanyahu bitterly opposes. Ireland and Spain announced their recognition in May.
Israeli media, meanwhile, reported that the detour by Netanyahu’s plane was intended to avoid countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute, which could enforce an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in case of an emergency landing.
The ICC in November issued warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes committed during Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
Spain last week announced it would support the ICC investigation and had set up a team to probe alleged human rights violations in Gaza, as part of its broader push to pressure Israel to end the war.
Netanyahu is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Friday. He is also slated to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House next week.
Netanyahu’s plane takes unusual route to UN summit
https://arab.news/nwr6t
Netanyahu’s plane takes unusual route to UN summit
- Although France had authorized Israeli use of its airspace, flight-tracking data showed Netanyahu’s aircraft instead took a southern path
- It crossed Greece and Italy, then veered south through the Strait of Gibraltar
Seven killed in drone strike on Sudan hospital: medical source
- Dilling, in the flashpoint state of South Kordofan, is controlled by the Sudanese army but has been under siege by rival paramilitary forces
- Sunday’s strike comes a day after a drone strike on a UN peacekeeping base killed six Bangladeshi troops in the similarly besieged South Kordofan state capital of Kadugli
PORT SUDAN: A drone strike Sunday on an army hospital in the besieged southern Sudan city of Dilling left “seven civilians dead and 12 injured,” a health worker at the facility told AFP.
The victims included patients and their companions, the medic said on condition of anonymity, explaining that the army hospital “serves the residents of the city and its surroundings, in addition to military personnel.”
Dilling, in the flashpoint state of South Kordofan, is controlled by the Sudanese army but has been under siege by rival paramilitary forces.
Since April 2023, the army has been at war with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who control swathes of the greater Kordofan region along with their allies, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) faction led by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu.
Sunday’s strike comes a day after a drone strike on a United Nations peacekeeping base killed six Bangladeshi troops in the similarly besieged South Kordofan state capital of Kadugli, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Dilling.
According to the UN, civilians in Dilling are suffering famine conditions, but a lack of access to data has prevented an official declaration.
Across the country, the war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 12 million and created the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.
