Trump dismisses New York mayor’s threat to arrest Netanyahu

US President Donald Trump on Monday vowed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not face arrest at a UN summit in New York, after the city’s new mayor said he was investigating the move.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani admitted he was unsure if he had the power to order police to detain a foreign leader but said he was discussing the matter with his legal team ahead of the UN General Assembly in September.

“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump said on social media. “He is fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The Hague-based International Criminal Court said in 2024 that it had reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu was responsible for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the brutal October 7, 2023 cross-border attack by Hamas.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani told the New York Times on Saturday. “He’s a war criminal.”

Netanyahu’s office also dismissed Mamdani’s stance and said the ICC was a kangaroo court.

AFP