El Al Israeli Airlines announced Sunday evening that a replacement crew will secure the flight of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sarah to Italy, after the company's pilots and hospitality crews refused to secure the flight scheduled for next Thursday.
The Israeli newspaper "Jerusalem Post" quoted the company as saying that its pilots put Netanyahu and his wife Sarah in a difficult position after none of them accepted volunteering to take them to Rome, where they would perform an official visit.
The deadline for the offer by Israel's national airline has passed, as it does when the prime minister is scheduled to take a flight on a commercial airline.
Later Sunday evening, El Al announced that it had finally found a crew to take Netanyahu and his wife to Italy.
It was not clear where the airline found the flight crew and co-pilot, as El Al employees appeared to not want to be involved in Netanyahu's transportation.
Netanyahu is expected to leave for Italy on Thursday to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorga Meloni.
The 37 reserve pilots in Israel, making up the majority of one of the important fighter squadrons, announced yesterday, Sunday, that they will not participate in training scheduled for next Wednesday, in rejection of a government plan that the opposition says aims to weaken the judiciary, which sparked protests that have been going on for 9 weeks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, considered the most extreme right-wing government in Israel's history, is seeking judicial changes, including imposing restrictions on the Supreme Court, which it accuses of overstepping its powers.
Critics of the move worry that Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges he denies, wants to override the judiciary.