Netanyahu again overflies Canada despite ICC arrest warrant Ottawa pledged to enforce

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is again routinely crossing Canadian airspace on trips to the United States even though Canada has pledged to enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him, a CBC News review of two years of flight data finds.

Netanyahu’s most recent overflight, on Sept. 24 for the UN General Assembly, ranged furthest into the Canadian mainland since the November 2024 warrant — crossing Labrador and much of Quebec. A July 27 flight to meet U.S. President Donald Trump also crossed Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The ICC warrant alleges war crimes including starvation as a method of warfare and intentionally directing attacks against civilians; Israel rejects the charges. Canada, as a Rome Statute party, has said it must comply with ICC obligations, yet Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson Audrey Champoux told CBC that Ottawa “does not currently link its overflight policy to law enforcement objectives except where an imminent security risk is present.” Global Affairs’ Myah Tomasi framed the September authorization as connected to the UN gathering and said it should not be read as an endorsement of any government’s policies.

Queen’s University international-law scholar Ardi Imseis told CBC that allowing Netanyahu into Canadian airspace breaches Rome Statute arrest-and-surrender duties. France has argued the statute does not cover overflights by a state aircraft carrying a warrant target; Slovenia and Turkey have said their airspace is closed, while other European states have allowed transit or declined to explain. University of Ottawa’s Errol Mendes said he is less focused on overflights than on defending the court against U.S. sanctions on judges, including Canadian Kim Prost. Netanyahu’s Wing of Zion avoided Canadian airspace on some earlier U.S. trips after the warrant issued, including under Justin Trudeau and early in Mark Carney’s tenure.

Sources: CBC News — Netanyahu overflights and ICC warrant.