President Trump said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “will not be arrested” when he visits New York in September.
“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America. 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 on Truth Social.
“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.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) July 20, 2026
Trump’s statement follows reports that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was looking into ways to possibly arrest Netanyahu.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He is a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani said it was an “active conversation” within the city’s legal department about what they’re allowed to do.
Watch below:
Mamdani says he is in talks to potentially have Israeli PM Netanyahu arrested when he visits NYC for a UN meeting: "I believe Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He is a war criminal who has been charged by the ICC. That's an active conversation with our legal department." pic.twitter.com/lzvw1a3ACP
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 20, 2026
CNBC shared further:
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on Nov. 21, 2024, alleging he is “responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population” in Gaza, as well as “crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024.”
The case relates to Israel’s war on Gaza after the attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Netanyahu’s office on Sunday blasted the ICC and Mamdani.
“The ICC is a kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement on X. “Its bogus arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu was issued by a disgraced former ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, a few days before allegations of sexual misconduct against him became public.”
“Instead of backing Khan’s criminal behaviour, Mr. Mamdani should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York,” the post said. “Like Karim Khan, 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.”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz listed four reasons why Mamdani’s threat to arrest Netanyahu during the United Nations General Assembly would not happen.
They include:
1. The U.S. is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC,
2. The UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of gov’t,
ADVERTISEMENT3. head-of-state immunity applies, &
4. federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes.
“This is pure political theater,” Waltz added.
Mayor Mamdani: here’s why your threat to arrest PM Netanyahu’s in NYC during UNGA is not going to happen:
1. The U.S. is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC,
2. The UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of gov’t,
3.…— Ambassador Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) July 18, 2026
More from the New York Post:
UNGA is slated to convene in September, which will likely mark the first time Netanyahu sets foot on New York City soil while Mamdani is in Gracie Mansion.
Netanyahu has been publicly critical of Mamdani, given his fierce public rebukes of Israel.
The Israeli leader recently postponed his planned visit to the US, which had been targeting mid-July, with his office blaming the delay on complications from Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) funeral being delayed.
Partly fueling that was the fact that a meeting with Trump wasn’t put on the books, i24 News reported.
What are your thoughts?
