Netanyahu's US Visit Cut to Hours Amid Flight and Scheduling Issues

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned visit to the United States has been significantly shortened at the last minute, with the cancellation of a trip to Texas and meetings with Elon Musk and Donald Trump. The Israeli government delegation was initially scheduled to fly to Texas on the "Wings of Zion" aircraft. Preparations were underway, with technical and security personnel already dispatched, but the prime minister ultimately decided to cancel this leg of the trip.

Sources in Israeli media attributed the changes to technical difficulties with the aircraft, which requires an intermediate stop for refueling to cover the distance from Israel to Texas. Additionally, last-minute scheduling conflicts arose, as the American side could not confirm meetings on short notice.

Consequently, Netanyahu's stay in New York has been reduced from a planned day to just a few hours. He is expected to arrive Thursday morning, address the UN General Assembly at 2:00 PM local time, and then immediately depart for Israel. This compressed schedule means the prime minister will miss several key international events during the UN's high-level week, including a presentation on peace plans for Gaza at UN headquarters and a film premiere in New York.