US President Donald Trump says that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested if he visits the United States. The statement comes after New York’s Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said his administration is investigating whether such an action is legally possible.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way or in any form, while he is in the United States of America.” The statement came after Mamdani said over the weekend that the city’s legal department is holding an “active discussion” about what powers New York might have when the Israeli Prime Minister is expected to visit the UN General Assembly in September.
The background is the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Netanyahu in November 2024. The court accuses him of suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection to the war in Gaza. Israel rejects the accusations, denies that the country has committed war crimes, and does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction. The US is also not a member of the court.
READ ALSO: Wanted to arrest Netanyahu – accused of sexual assault
Mamdani has previously said that he believes Netanyahu should be brought to trial in The Hague and recently reiterated that he wants to follow international law if there is legal support for it. At the same time, he emphasized that the city will not act outside the existing legal framework.
Several American legal experts have, however, questioned whether New York has any legal basis at all to enforce an ICC warrant. Since the US does not recognize the ICC and federal law limits American authorities’ cooperation with the court, a possible arrest is seen as facing significant legal obstacles.
Wants to divert attention
Israel also responded to Mamdani’s statements and called the ICC a “kangaroo court.” The Prime Minister’s office described the arrest warrant as baseless and said that the mayor’s comments aim to divert attention from problems in New York City’s administration.
Netanyahu is, according to plan, set to travel to New York in September to attend the UN’s annual General Assembly, where world leaders gather for meetings and speeches. Trump’s statement signals that the federal administration sees no possibility of allowing the Israeli Prime Minister to be arrested during a visit to the US.