Netanyahu Rushes US Visit for UN Speech, Skips Texas

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is significantly shortening his upcoming visit to the United States, according to a report by i24NEWS. Instead of his planned itinerary, which included a stop in Texas before his address at the United Nations, Netanyahu is now expected to fly directly to a military airport outside New York City.

From the military airfield, he will proceed to the UN headquarters to deliver his speech at 2 p.m. local time (9 p.m. Israel time) before immediately departing for Israel. This revised plan comes amid reports that Netanyahu had intended to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio prior to his UN address, a meeting that was mentioned before the announcement of the visit's curtailment.

Netanyahu's decision to attend the UN General Assembly follows a period of consideration in July, when he reportedly debated skipping the event. He ultimately decided to go, partly seeing it as an opportunity to aid his election campaign. The Prime Minister is expected to return to Israel before the Sukkot holiday, which begins the day after his speech.

The article also references external reports, including a threat from Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi to potentially arrest Netanyahu at the UN and Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz canceling his own UN visit due to domestic political concerns.