ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday flew from Tel Aviv to Miami ahead of a scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump, raising eyebrows after his plane flew through the airspace of several International Criminal Court (ICC) member states unhindered, despite the existence of an arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

On Monday, the Israeli premier will meet Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida against the backdrop of escalating regional turmoil, with Israel having engaged in recent military action in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, and the US leader's desire to progress the Gaza peace deal into its second phase.

The Israeli premier has been hosted by Trump more than any other world leader.

As shown on FlightRadar24, the government plane, the “Wing of Zion,” flew unhindered on Sunday over Greece, Italy, and France.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday flew to Miami ahead of a scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida

Netanyahu is traveling despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him for war crimes in Gaza,… pic.twitter.com/sVzsNpK2BJ

— The New Region (@thenewregion) December 28, 2025

Last September, en route to the UN summit in New York, Netanyahu’s plane avoided the airspace of several European countries, including France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and the UK — all signatories of the ICC statute and therefore legally obliged to arrest Netanyahu and hand him over to the court in The Hague if he entered their territory. On that trip, Netanyahu flew only over Greece and Italy.

International criminal lawyer and Senior Legal Officer at the UN Johann Soufi commented on X, calling out the French foreign minister: “Wing of Zion, Benjamin Netanyahu’s plane, targeted by an arrest warrant from the ICC for crimes against humanity, quietly flies over French airspace en route to Florida. International justice in words, impunity in actions.”

The visit comes as Washington presses ahead with its 20-point “peace plan” for Gaza, despite near-daily Israeli violations of the truce. At the same time, Israel is intensifying operations in the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria, while Israeli officials openly signal that another war with Iran cannot be ruled out.

Gaza is expected to be a central issue in Netanyahu’s talks with Trump.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has framed the Trump administration’s top priority in Gaza as locking in the first phase of the ceasefire and shifting from simply stopping the fighting to shaping long-term governance, stabilization, and reconstruction.

Israel, however, has repeatedly violated the truce, while Trump, who has boasted of bringing peace to the Middle East “for the first time in 3,000 years,” has largely emphasized advancing the overall deal rather than scrutinizing Israel’s day‑to‑day actions.

Rubio underscored the urgency of “fully” completing phase one, arguing the current situation is neither sustainable nor acceptable. He has also hinted at flexibility over disarming Hamas, saying the core objective should be ensuring the group can’t threaten Israel, rather than seizing every weapon.

Israel’s leadership, meanwhile, is signaling different aims: Defense Minister Israel Katz said this week that Israel wants to re-establish settlements in Gaza — illegal under international law — before partially walking back the statement and insisting instead on a permanent Israeli military presence in the territory, a stance that would clash with Trump’s plan.