Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu arrived in New York City on September 25 and is scheduled to attend the general debate of the United Nations General Assembly on September 26. According to Israeli media reports, Netanyahu¡¯s aircraft to avoid passing through some European countries¡¯ airspace, for the first time changed the conventional route, about 600 kilometers away.

Netanyahu will speak at the general debate of the UN General Assembly on the 26th (data map/Xinhua News Agency photo by Muammar Awad)

The Israeli newspaper National Geographic that Netanyahu had previously travelled to the United States six times, flying over Greece, Italy and France, but this flight, the aircraft flew over the Mediterranean Sea, from southern Spain through the Strait of Gibraltar. According to the US cable news network, the aircraft briefly passed through Greece and Italy, circumventing France and Spain.

A French diplomat told the newspaper that the French side had approved the Israeli transit and that it was unclear why it changed the route. According to the Israeli i24 news station and the Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu reduced the size of staff, media journalists and other accompanying personnel by reducing the load of special aircraft and reducing the fuel consumption of the circumvention.

According to the Israeli Times, the move could be to circumvent an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. Last November, the International Criminal Court in The Hague in the Netherlands issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Garant. Both are accused of intentional attacks on civilians, as well as intentional deprivation of basic assets for the survival of Gaza civilians. Israel denies these allegations. Multiple European parties to the International Criminal Court said Netanyahu would be arrested on the basis of an arrest warrant once he appeared in their territory.

Netanyahu will speak at the general debate of the UN General Assembly on the 26th, and will meet with US President Trump at the White House on the 29th. On the 25th, some Israeli expatriates organized a protest outside a hotel in Manhattan, New York, where Netanyahu stayed, holding slogans such as "Stop the war", "No military solution" and "Take them home", demanding that Netanyahu The government ceased fire in the Gaza Strip and released detainees.

Several Western countries, including Britain and France, announced their recognition of the State of Palestine on 21-22 December, and Trump continued to defy Israel during the General Assembly general debate on 23 April, accusing some member states of recognizing the Palestinian state as "seems to encourage the continuation of the conflict".

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During the high-level international conference on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and implementation of the ¡°Two-State Plan¡± held on 22 June, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the recognition of the State of Palestine. Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta and Monaco also announced the recognition of the State of Palestine.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly warned nations not to recognize the Palestinian state, and far-right members of the Netanyahu administration have further threatened to annex the West Bank and even dissolve the Palestinian Authority.

Threat to annex West Bank

During the UN conference, France and other nations formally recognized the decision of the Palestinian State and sparked a strong Israeli anger. Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, warned: ¡°We will take action. They come here to speak, take pictures, and pretend they are doing something is easy. But they are not promoting peace, they are supporting ¡®terrorism¡¯.¡±

On September 22, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, French President Macron delivered a speech at the high-level international conference on peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and implementation of the ¡°Two-State Plan¡±.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his consistent stance that Israel will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state and vowed to accelerate the construction of new Jewish settlements.He accused the Palestinian leader of acknowledging that the Palestinian state ¡°is providing huge rewards for terrorism.¡±

Far-right members of Netanyahu's government further called for the annexation of the West Bank. Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich said in a statement on the 21st: "The days when it was up to the United Kingdom and other countries to decide our future are over... The only response to'anti-Israel actions' is to reclaim Judea and Samaria. The territorial sovereignty of the 'Jewish Homeland' in the West Bank and forever remove the stupid idea of a Palestinian state from the agenda." Israeli National Security Minister Ben-Gvir further stated on social platform X that he will propose at the next government meeting to immediately "exercise sovereignty" in the West Bank and at the same time "completely dissolve the Palestinian National Authority."

The Yesha Council, the political agency representing Israeli settlers in the West Bank, threatened Netanyahu¡¯s government, claiming that ¡°a government will lose its right to survive if it does not respond with broad sovereignty to a declaration to establish a terrorist state in the center of the country.¡±

Jewish settlements in the northern part of the West Bank have announced that they will build a new settlement in response. Local officials said more measures will be introduced in the future to advance the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Netanyahu further threatened in a video statement tonight that Israeli Jewish settlements in the West Bank region have doubled, "we will continue along this path," while he said he plans to respond after meeting with U.S. President Trump next week.

According to the US Political News Network, Netanyahu's government has been increasing and significantly expanding settlements at the fastest rate for many years, while consolidating them with road networks and other permanent infrastructure. Between November 2023 and October 2024, Israel established 49 new settlements, bringing the total number of settlements in the West Bank to 141, in addition to dozens of annexation plans in the pipeline.

Several sides warn Israel not to "react"

In response to a possible Israeli counterattack, British Foreign Secretary Cooper told BBC on Monday that the British government had warned Israel not to annex Palestine.The Washington Post quoted anonymous European officials as reporting that if Israel annexed Palestine or expelled European diplomats, the European Commission could take stronger countermeasures, including imposing trade sanctions on exports of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Israeli military operations in Gaza

According to people familiar with the matter, Saudi Arabia has recently informed the Israeli government that the annexation of any part of the Palestinian West Bank will bring Israel to a standstill in "negotiations to normalize relations with the economic powers in the region." Earlier this month, the UAE publicly warned Israel against annexing Palestine, saying the move could jeopardize diplomatic relations between the two countries. With Trump's support, Israel and the UAE signed the Abraham Accords in 2020, normalizing relations between the two countries.

Former Israeli diplomat Aaron Pinkas said in an interview with CNN that Netanyahu is unlikely to annex the West Bank. "Even if he does want to annex the West Bank, it will only be a symbolic annexation of some land in 'Area C' that no one cares about." According to the Oslo Accords signed by the Palestinian and Israeli sides in 1993 and their subsequent texts, the West Bank is divided into three categories of areas, ABC, and Area C is under full Israeli security and civil control.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid harshly criticized Netanyahu's government on X: "A well-functioning Israeli government could have prevented this from happening through smart and conscientious work, professional diplomatic dialogue and effective public diplomacy."

¡°Today, the government that brought us the worst security catastrophe in history now brings us the worst diplomatic crisis ever,¡± Rapid said.