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U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not be arrested while visiting the United States, after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said city lawyers were considering what legal options might be available.
“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump did not directly refer to Mamdani’s comments but credited Israel with helping in the war with Iran.
“He is fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which recently killed 52,000 innocent protestors, and has spent the last 47 years killing American soldiers, and others,” Trump wrote.
“The only ones that should be arrested are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented spiral of death and destruction, something that should have been dealt with years ago, by previous presidents,” he added.
Mamdani said in an interview broadcast Saturday that New York City’s legal department was actively considering what the law might permit regarding Netanyahu.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court,” Mamdani told The New York Times video podcast “The Interview.”
During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani said he would have police arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli leader entered New York City.
Mamdani took office in January.
Netanyahu traditionally travels to New York each September to attend the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.
Last November, shortly after Mamdani’s election victory, the mayor-elect and Trump held an unexpectedly friendly meeting at the White House despite having previously exchanged insults.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 over alleged war crimes during the Gaza war.
Israel rejects the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes.
The Hague-based court was established in 2002 and has international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The U.S. and Israel are not members of the ICC.
Israel responded Sunday to Mamdani’s comments in a post on X, calling the ICC a “kangaroo court” and describing the arrest warrant against Netanyahu as “bogus.”
“Mamdani appears interested in diverting public attention from his follies and attacking the leader of the Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East,” the post said.
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