France: ICC Arrest Warrant Is No Barrier to Netanyahu’s Flight Over Our Airspace

France defended its decision to let Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plane cross its airspace en route to the United Nations. France said international law does not require action despite an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court against him over suspected war crimes.

France is a signatory of the ICC’s founding Rome Statute and is officially obliged to cooperate with the court, including arresting suspects who enter its territory. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux told reporters that the permission was “in full compliance with international law”.

“The Rome Statute imposes no obligation regarding flights over its territory by a state aircraft carrying a passenger who is the target of an arrest warrant,” Confavreux said.

Netanyahu is unable to travel to many countries due to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against him and his then defense minister, as well as Hamas’s then military commander in 2024.

Israel contests the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza, where it conducted a military campaign it says was aimed at eliminating Hamas after the deadly attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group on October 7, 2023. Israel is challenging the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his former defense chief, Yoav Gallant.

The flight-tracking app Flightradar24 showed Netanyahu’s plane flying over Greece, Italy and France. Last year Netanyahu flew a circuitous route to New York, bypassing the airspace of several European countries, including France, media reported at the time.