President Trump confirmed on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested during any upcoming visits to the United States, The Hill reported. This statement arrives in response to recent comments made by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who suggested that he is exploring options to have the Israeli leader detained when he travels to the city for the United Nations General Assembly this fall.
The president took to Truth Social to make his stance clear regarding the potential arrest. “Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump wrote.
He further emphasized his support for the prime minister by highlighting the ongoing conflict with Iran. The president stated, “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.”
The tension began over the weekend whenMamdani discussed the possibility of an arrest on Netanyahu
Mamdani, who has previously described the Israeli military campaign in Gaza as a genocide, expressed his strong personal stance on the matter. “I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said. “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court, and what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many, purely because of what his actions have wrought over these past many years.”
This situation stems from an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in 2024. The court has accused Netanyahu of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine, specifically citing “starvation as a method of warfare” and “other inhumane acts” occurring between October 8, 2023, and May 20, 2024. During his mayoral campaign last year, Mamdani promised that he would order the city police department to arrest the Israeli leader, a pledge he reiterated is something “I intend to fulfill.”
When asked about the logistics of such an operation, the mayor noted that his office is engaged in an “active discussion with our legal department” regarding whether a potential arrest aligns with local city law. Mamdani emphasized that he plans to “follow the laws” of New York City, framing the potential action not as a personal vendetta, but as a recognition of the international warrant.
“We’re not talking about a personal assessment of Benjamin Netanyahu,” the mayor said. “We’re talking about the International Criminal Court and the fact that they have a warrant out for this prime minister’s arrest, and I think it’s important to talk about the weight that that has as a charge and that also, as the mayor of New York City, I’ll be following the laws of New York City.”
Netanyahu has responded to these threats by dismissing them entirely. In a recent interview on WABC with host Sid Rosenberg, the prime minister accused the mayor of aligning himself with terror actors. “He’s with the terror actors,” the prime minister said. “And I think the problem is that he doesn’t recognize and he doesn’t care that those who hate the Jews and Israel ultimately hate America.”
The office of the prime minister also released a formal statement on Sunday, characterizing the International Criminal Court as “a kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis.” The statement defended the actions taken by the Israeli government.
It noted that “Under Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leadership, Israel has taken unprecedented wartime measures to minimize harm to civilians while confronting Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that uses Palestinians as human shields and deliberately targets innocent Israeli civilians.” The office further criticized the mayor, suggesting that Mamdani “should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York.”
President Trump concluded his remarks by shifting the focus toward those he believes are responsible for regional instability. The president stated that 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!”
Published: Jul 20, 2026 04:00 pm