Netanyahu urges Kerry to lift ban on flights to Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on US Secretary of State John Kerry to lift the ban on American flights to Israel, a day after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) barred all operations to Tel Aviv due to rising security concerns.

“Netanyahu spoke this evening with…Kerry and asked him to act to restore flights by American airline companies to Israel,” sources in Netanyahu’s office told AFP.

Kerry, who is in Cairo pursuing efforts to broker a ceasefire to end hostilities in Gaza, has moved to reassure the Israeli premier that the ban is solely due to safety concerns.

He told Netanyahu by telephone that American authorities will review the temporary order within one day, according to State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki.

The notice “was issued to protect American citizens and American carriers,” Psaki said in Cairo.

“The only consideration in issuing the notice was the safety and security of our citizens,” she added.

Earlier in Washington Psaki’s deputy Marie Harf denied the ban was a tactic aimed at putting pressure on Israel to accept a ceasefire ending a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 630 people and injured over 4,000 others.

Various international airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv on Tuesday after a rocket fired from Gaza landed one mile from Ben Gurion airport in the Israeli capital.

The American FAA was the first to warn airlines about increased risks of flying into Israel, which prompted Delta to divert a Tel Aviv-bound Boeing 747 with 273 passengers and 17 crew on board to Paris.

"Due to the potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza, all flight operations to/from Ben Gurion International Airport by US operators are prohibited until further advised," said the FAA's Notice to Airmen, or NOTAM, issued shortly after 1600 GMT.

The European Aviation Safety Agency avoided a ban on flights, although they did issue a “strong recommendation to avoid until further notice Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport,” according to AFP.

Air France has cancelled flights to Israel “until further notice” and German airline Lufthansa has said all Israeli-bound operations have been cancelled for three days. The UK’s British Airways and low-cost carrier EasyJet, however, defied the warning and continue to run scheduled flights to Tel Aviv.

"We continue to operate as normal," a British Airways spokesman said. "Safety and security are our highest priorities and we continue to monitor the situation closely."

The Israeli Transportation Ministry responded to the issuances by calling on airlines to reverse the decision and insisted that the Tel Aviv airport remains “safe for landings and departures”.

"Ben-Gurion Airport is safe and completely guarded and there is no reason whatsoever that American companies would stop their flights and hand terror a prize," the ministry said in a statement.

The former mayor of New York and multi-billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg protested the decision to ban flights and pledged to fly to Tel Aviv with Israeli airline El Al to show solidarity.

“The flight restrictions are a mistake that hands Hamas an undeserved victory and should be lifted immediately,” he wrote on his official Twitter account.

Elsewhere on Tuesday Secretary of State Kerry called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas late on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

They discussed the Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency, which has been rejected by Hamas because the deal does not include an agreement to end the seven year long siege of Gaza.

Kerry also held talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo on the situation in Gaza.