Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to the United States for a brief visit to participate in the United Nations General Assembly meetings, after his schedule was reduced to just a few hours amid security concerns and expected protests in New York.
Netanyahu is expected to spend only about 6 hours on American soil, after his "Zion Wing" plane took off from Israel early Thursday morning, set to land at a military airport in New Jersey before heading to Manhattan to deliver his speech at the General Assembly and then returning to Israel that same evening, according to the newspaper "Ma'ariv".
The change in the plane's route comes after it was originally supposed to land at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, due to security considerations and special arrangements regarding the aircraft's stay during the visit.
Israeli sources revealed days ago that the plane would land in New Jersey instead of New York, citing concerns about protests and complications related to the stance of New York City Mayor Zahran Mamdani, as reported by the newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth".
Netanyahu is expected to use his speech at the United Nations to deliver sharp criticism of the Mayor of New York City, who described the Israeli Prime Minister as a "war criminal", in a dispute that highlights Netanyahu's increasing isolation ahead of the Israeli elections that he is likely to lose.
Notably, this time Netanyahu will not be accompanied by Israeli journalists on the official plane, and the agenda of the visit has been significantly reduced; he will not meet with President Donald Trump or Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and a meeting with American billionaire Elon Musk has also been canceled.
The announced list of meetings includes a limited number of world leaders, including the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama, and Ethiopia, along with the Vice President of Colombia and the Prime Ministers of Greece, Slovenia, and Papua New Guinea.
Netanyahu is also scheduled to deliver a 40-minute speech at the United Nations, with an expected focus on Iran, its nuclear program, and missile capabilities, alongside discussions on international criticisms of Israel and Mamdani.
Before departing Israel, the Prime Minister stated that he would confront what he described as "lies" at the United Nations, speaking of "surprises" he would reveal during his speech.
Conversely, "Yedioth Ahronoth" noted that the speech is largely aimed at the Israeli audience, at a time when the Israeli delegation is preparing for the possibility of protests within the hall, including walkouts or objections during the speech, similar to what happened during Netanyahu's speech last year.