Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plane avoided Canadian airspace due to International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants, KAN news reported.
Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant were both charged by the ICC in November 2024 with committing crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
The charges were the first leveled at the head of a democratic government and were met with condemnation by Israel and the United States, neither of which recognize the authority of the court.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed soon after the warrants were issued that his government would abide by them.
Donald Trump, who was inaugurated in January, immediately began targeting the court with sanctions and legal consequences.
Legal requirements to act
Despite Trump's bombastic rhetoric against the court, his actions follow the legal requirements of the 2002 American Service-Members' Protection Act, also known as The Hague Invasion Act.
The act authorizes the United States to use "all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any US or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court."
Under American law, allied personnel includes military or civilian officials employed by or working on behalf of the government of a NATO member country, a major non-NATO ally, including Argentina, Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, and New Zealand.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan became the first person to be targeted with economic and travel sanctions.