US President Donald Trump on Monday said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not be arrested while visiting the United States after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration was examining what legal authority it could exercise if the Israeli leader travelled to the city.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump defended Netanyahu and criticised those who had backed action against Iran instead.
“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump wrote.
He also praised Netanyahu’s actions against Iran and argued that those responsible for Iran’s policies should face arrest instead.
Mamdani says officials examining legal options
The remarks came after Mamdani told The New York Times that Netanyahu was a “war criminal” who “belongs in The Hague.”
He said New York City officials were holding an “active conversation” with the city’s Law Department to determine what powers, if any, were available under existing law if Netanyahu visited the city.
“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do,” Mamdani said, adding that his administration was not seeking to introduce new local laws.
Israel rejects ICC warrant
Netanyahu’s office strongly criticised Mamdani’s comments, calling the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant “bogus” and describing the court as a “kangaroo court” with no jurisdiction over Israel or the United States.
The Prime Minister’s Office also alleged that former ICC prosecutor Karim Khan pursued the warrant to divert attention from later allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
In a statement posted on X, the office accused Mamdani of targeting Israel instead of addressing issues facing New York City.
It also defended Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, saying the armed forces had adopted “unprecedented wartime measures” to minimise civilian casualties while fighting Hamas, which it accused of using civilians as human shields.
ICC warrants
The dispute stems from arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court in November 2024 against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the Gaza conflict.
Israel has rejected the allegations and disputes the court’s jurisdiction. The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, and is therefore not under an international legal obligation to arrest or extradite people sought by the court.