Israel is also afraid.
People are surprised to find that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently went to the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly, took a very unusual route.
To know, the earth is round, Israeli aircraft depart to New York, generally to the northwest through Europe, Italy, France, Spain ...
In the past, Netanyahu's special plane to the United States, such as the one in July this year, used this route, which was the fastest and most convenient. After all, they were all European countries, and Israel felt safe.
This time, however, there was a “lost line.”
Looking at the flight trajectory of Netanyahu’s aircraft, it almost flighted along the Mediterranean Sea, flew over Greece and Italy for a short time, but completely escaped French and Spanish airspace, and eventually flew out of the Mediterranean from the Strait of Gibraltar.
Obviously, the route is longer, more time, and closer to the Arab countries of North Africa.
Is it safer or more dangerous?
This is much safer for Israel.
Why?
Simply put, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an international arrest warrant against Netanyahu last November on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Let me explain a little here, While both are located in The Hague, the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice are two different institutions.
The International Court of Justice, known as the International Court of Justice in The Hague, is one of the six major bodies of the United Nations, which only deals with disputes between states and does not accept legal disputes between individuals.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), established under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which entered into force on 1 July 2002, deals only with individual crimes and concerns only the following four crimes: Genocide, crimes against humanity (crimes against humanity), war crimes and crimes of aggression.
It must be noted that the United States, Israel, China, and Russia are not parties to the Rome Statute, but Palestine signed the Statute in 2015. Therefore, the International Criminal Court has the right to adjudicate issues related to Palestine.
It was not easy, but this time the International Criminal Court, under strong pressure from the United States, issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
Israel is angry, but helpless.
Therefore, we see that Netanyahu's subsequent visits have decreased sharply. In CNN's words, Netanyahu could be forced to land and arrested if he flew over countries that are members of the International Criminal Court.
France, Spain, Italy and Greece are members of the International Criminal Court.
Israel did not care much before, and these European countries, too, were unable to execute the International Criminal Court’s orders to shake hands on the Israeli prime minister.
But the subtlety of international politics lies in the fact that the calm of the surface often flows, and the silence of the past does not necessarily resist the change of the current trend.
As the world grows angry at Israel's actions, and as Spain, France, etc all recognize the Palestinian state, Israel feels the seriousness of the problem.
What if France and Spain were to be defeated?
What if Netanyahu's plane is forced to land?
Then the Israeli Prime Minister is really likely to be extradited to The Hague for trial.
Although this possibility is small and the Israeli aircraft are not vegetarian, Israel has to defend itself, as the real risk often comes from the neglect of tiny probability.
So, this time, it is better to take a few curves, consume more fuel, and also reduce the risk to a minimum.
According to Israeli media reports, due to the new route, at least more than 600 kilometers, in order to compensate for the loss of fuel, the Israeli side even cancelled some journalists and accompanying on the special plane.
For the safety of the leader, the weight of the entourage can sometimes be optimized.
As mentioned earlier, the risk of France and Spain taking action is minimal.
As I saw, CNN also specifically quoted the French side as saying that France had previously accepted an Israeli request to fly over French airspace, but that Netanyahu had avoided French airspace.
Israel is afraid too.
This drama code, “I let you fly, but you will not fly,” also reflects the most extreme mutual distrust between international relations.
Finally what do you think?
Let's make three superficial points.
First, the whole world has the ability to balance Israel.
In military terms, Israel is now indeed an enemy in the Middle East.
But is the world really unable to control Israel?
Certainly not, the United States has a way, without U.S. arms supplies, without U.S. tolerance, Israel could not bomb Gaza over and over again, and it would not be possible to run thousands of miles to attack Qatar’s capital Doha.
Qatar is a bit upset, Qatar has the Udeid air base in the Middle East, the largest in the United States, and Qatar has just sent a $400 million Boeing aircraft to Trump as Air Force One, but the United States is in charge of launching an Israeli attack.
Is there really no way for European countries?
You see, Europe just has a shift in attitude. Israel is afraid. The Prime Minister's special plane must avoid France and Spain.
Although there is no way France will do it.
This clearly demonstrates that international morality, although invisible, has its own strength; rules, although imperfect, remain a barrier to the dependence of weak countries.
Second, it exposes the serious double standards in the West.
Why a double target?
Because Putin planned to visit South Africa before, the United States and other western countries believed that South Africa was a member of the International Criminal Court and put pressure on South Africa to arrest Putin.
Perhaps because of the risks involved, Putin didn't go to South Africa in the end, and his visits were few and far between.
Is it Netanyahu’s turn that these Western countries execute the arrest warrants?
France and Spain didn’t say it was a bit of a risk for Israel, Greece and Italy, but you are also members of the International Criminal Court.
The most ridiculous thing is Italy, which recently vowed to send two warships to escort humanitarian ships to Gaza.
This is certainly worthy of recognition.
But, on the other side of Italy, the Israeli Prime Minister's special plane passed through your airspace. Have you executed the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court? Britain, France and Spain have all recognized the Palestinian state. Have you recognized it?
I have to say, it's just a double spring.
If the law is not equally applicable to the strong and the weak, then the so-called international order is only the mantle of power in the rules.
Third, the poor International Criminal Court.
Because of Netanyahu's judgment, many judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court are being sanctioned by the United States. They and their families cannot go to the United States, and they cannot even use US dollar business-because all banks are afraid of the long-arm jurisdiction of the United States.
It is reported that in order to mitigate potential losses, although it is still September, the International Criminal Court has paid all employees wages for the whole year of 2025 in advance.
This is probably the most heartbreaking “early end-of-year award” in history – not because the performance is too good, but because the accounts are frozen tomorrow.
America is superstitious and the world knows it.
The United States, China, and Russia are not members of the International Criminal Court, and we can understand how much it does not enforce the judgment.
But what about the Member States of the Court, especially the European Member States?
As I said earlier, the court's arrest warrant has been issued, but France and Spain did not allow Netanyahu's special plane to fly over their airspace before. However, now Israel sees the increased risk and avoids France and Spain, but still flies to Italy, Greece...
The realization of justice is never achieved overnight. It often has to go through the thorns of reality, and even requires the persistence and sacrifice of several generations.
The poor International Criminal Court is being rubbed on the floor by the West.