Trump rejects Mamdani’s threat to arrest Israel’s Netanyahu for war crimes

US president insists Netanyahu will not be arrested, despite ICC warrant.

By Al Jazeera Staff and AFP

Published On 20 Jul 202620 Jul 2026

United States President Donald Trump has dismissed a threat from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani to arrest Israel’s prime minister for war crimes should he visit the city.

Trump insisted that Benjamin Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form” while in the US.

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The president made the pledge on Monday in a social media post that did not name Mamdani directly but credited Israel with helping the US in its war on Iran.

Mamdani earlier said his administration is still considering whether to arrest Netanyahu should he attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this September.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said in an interview published on Saturday.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024, charging him with committing war crimes during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court,” Mamdani said, adding his view is shared by many, given the actions the Israeli PM has “wrought over these last many years”.

Mamdani said his administration is still considering whether to arrest Netanyahu should he attend the UNGA in New York in September [File: Olga Fedorova/EPA]

Mamdani said he remains uncertain whether he has the legal authority to direct the police, which he oversees, to detain a foreign leader and that he is in “an active conversation” with the city’s Law Department.

“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end,” he said.