Trump rejects potential Netanyahu arrest in New York
The president said Benjamin Netanyahu would not be detained in the US after Mayor Zohran Mamdani said New York was studying its legal options.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
US President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested in the United States, pushing back after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said city officials were reviewing whether they could detain him during a possible visit. The dispute is tied to a 2024 International Criminal Court warrant for Netanyahu and the prospect that he could travel to New York for the UN General Assembly in September.
Trump made the statement Monday in a social media post, according to Al Jazeera and AFP. He did not name Mamdani directly, but said Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form” while in the US and credited Israel with helping the United States in its war on Iran.
Mamdani said in an interview published Saturday that his administration was still examining whether it could act if Netanyahu attended the General Assembly. He said he believes Netanyahu “belongs in The Hague,” where the ICC is based.
The ICC issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes connected to Israel’s war in Gaza. Mamdani described Netanyahu as a war criminal charged by the court and said many people shared that assessment because of the Israeli leader’s actions over years.
Mamdani also said he was unsure whether he had the legal power to order New York police to detain a foreign leader. He said the city was discussing the issue with its Law Department and that his administration would act only within the law.
“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end,” Mamdani said in the interview.
During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani had said he would direct police to arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister entered the city, presenting the move as enforcement of the ICC warrant. Netanyahu commonly travels to New York in September for the annual UN gathering.
Israel rejected Mamdani’s comments in a post on X, according to Al Jazeera and AFP. The Israeli government called the ICC a “kangaroo court,” described the warrant as “bogus” and accused Mamdani of trying to shift attention away from his own problems.
The ICC was created in 2002 to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Israel rejects the court’s jurisdiction, and neither Israel nor the United States is a member of the court.
The Trump administration has also moved against the ICC, according to Al Jazeera and AFP. It has imposed sanctions on judges, prosecutors and organizations seeking rulings against Israel over allegations of human rights violations, as part of a campaign aimed at weakening the court.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.