Canada checking whether Netanyahu will fly through its airspace: Foreign minister

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said she is checking to see whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an international arrest warrant, will be travelling through Canadian airspace Thursday.

“I actually have asked my department to provide me with information relating to this particular flyover, which I did not have before coming to the United Nations," Anand told reporters Wednesday outside UN headquarters in New York, according to CTV News.

However, Anand would not say whether Canada sees Netanyahu as a war criminal.

“Our position is … to respect decisions of international courts and … to support, at all times, people who are suffering, including in Gaza and Palestine and the West Bank, and to ensure that crimes against humanity are addressed as such,” she said.

Her remarks came after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said last October that Netanyahu would be arrested if he entered Canada.

As a foreign dignitary flying on a state aircraft, Netanyahu must request diplomatic clearance from Ottawa at least three working days before entering Canadian airspace.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, finding "reasonable grounds" to believe that they bear criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu is scheduled to visit New York to address the UN General Assembly on Thursday.