Netanyahu flies through Canadian airspace despite ICC arrest warrant

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resumed routinely flying through Canadian airspace on trips to the United States, despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant that Canada has pledged to enforce.

Flight data shows Netanyahu's plane, known as the Wing of Zion, crossed Labrador and a large part of Quebec on Sept. 24 en route to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"Canada is a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which requires it to arrest and surrender any person who is subject to an arrest warrant issued by the court," said Ardi Imseis, co-director of the international law program at Queen's University.

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"Canada has therefore breached its obligations as a state party to the Rome Statute by allowing Netanyahu to enter Canadian airspace en route to the United States."

The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu in November 2024 for alleged war crimes including "starvation as a method of warfare" and "intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population." The Israeli government rejects the charges.

Canada's government has been reluctant to say whether it granted permission for the flights, but on the last two occasions it has given answers.

Before Netanyahu's September flight, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told reporters she didn’t know whether he would cross Canada.

"I actually have asked my department to provide me with information relating to this particular flyover, which I did not have before coming to the United Nations," Anand said outside UN headquarters a day before Netanyahu landed.

Under Canadian protocol rules, the Israeli leader would have had to seek permission for that flight from Anand's department at least two days before her remarks.

Myah Tomasi of Global Affairs Canada later said the decision was out of respect for the traditions of the United Nations.

"Any authorization to pass through Canadian airspace should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the policies or actions of any particular government," she said.

"In this case, the overflight request was in connection to the United Nations General Assembly, a critical forum for the diplomatic engagement."

Despite this position from the Carney government, Netanyahu's plane clearly avoided Canadian airspace when he travelled to the UN General Assembly last year.

On July 27, when the United Nations was not on his agenda, Netanyahu's Boeing 767-300 also crossed Newfoundland and Nova Scotia on his way to an Oval Office meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Israeli Embassy said it had sought a green light from the Carney government for Netanyahu's jet to cross Canada for that July flight. The embassy did not respond to questions about the most recent flight.

Following that July flight, Prime Minister's Office spokesperson Audrey Champoux said "Canada does not currently link its overflight policy to law enforcement objectives except where an imminent security risk is present."

Separately, a Global Affairs Canada spokesperson said that "Canada's position remains that, as a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, it must comply with its obligations under the statute and under international law."

Netanyahu's first flight of the Carney era was in July 2025, and carried the Israeli leader to Washington to meet Trump and members of Congress. On that occasion the Wing of Zion skirted just outside Canadian airspace off Newfoundland.

The flight prior to that, in February 2025, was Netanyahu's first visit to the U.S. after the issuance of his arrest warrant, and occurred while Justin Trudeau was still prime minister. Trudeau had committed to enforce the ICC warrant, without specifying whether that determination also applied to Canada's airspace. Carney later made a similar commitment.

That flight avoided Canadian airspace, entering the U.S. at the mouth of Delaware Bay.

Flight data suggests that Netanyahu's concerns about the risks of international travel peaked in late 2025, with his flight to New York that year burning extra fuel to avoid the European mainland.

Some countries, such as Slovenia and Turkey, have publicly stated that their airspaces are closed to the Israeli leader. In other cases, such as Spain, no ban has been announced but Netanyahu's jet has made clear detours to avoid airspace.

European countries appear to be split on the issue of whether an obligation to enforce the warrant extends to sovereign airspace.

The government of France, which has also allowed Netanyahu to fly through its airspace, has said it will enforce ICC arrest warrants against Israeli officials, but has also argued that it has no obligation to do so in the air.

French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said after Netanyahu's most recent flight that "the Rome Statute does not impose any obligations regarding overflights of its territory by a state plane which has a passenger who is targeted by an arrest warrant."

France is an exception in clearly stating its interpretation of its Rome Statute obligations. Italy and Greece have also allowed Netanyahu to overfly national territory, but both have declined to explain their legal reasoning.

Whether or not airspace is covered by the Rome Statute is debated by international law experts.

With files from CBC News