AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – 
Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering avoiding a stopover in Europe on his way to the U.S. over fears that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is readying to issue an arrest warrant against him over the occupying regime’s crimes in Gaza.
Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to the U.S. and to deliver a speech before the U.S. Congress on July 24. He is also expected to meet U.S. President Joe Biden in the White House.
On May 20, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and war minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. 
The Zionist regime’s public broadcaster KAN said Netanyahu’s office reviewed the matter of stopping in Europe on his way to Washington as his plane is unable to make a transatlantic flight while carrying a full load of passengers.
His office reviewed the option of having a stopover in the Czech Republic or Hungary, as these two countries are considered friends to the Zionist regime, and called ICC arrest requests “unacceptable,” according to KAN.
It, however, noted that Netanyahu’s office in the end decided to go for a direct flight to Washington with a limited number of passengers on board.
While the U.S. is not a member of the ICC, receiving Netanyahu despite an international arrest warrant could expose it to criticism.
The regime also is not a member of the court, whereas Palestine was accepted as a member in 2015.
The ICC, established in 2002, is an independent international body not affiliated with the United Nations or any other international institution, and its decisions are binding.