Trump says Netanyahu won’t be arrested in U.S., rebuffing Mamdani’s threat
by Kerry Picket · The Washington TimesPresident Trump said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested while in the U.S., overruling New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is seeking a way to arrest the Israeli leader if he visits the city.
“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “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 president said the only ones who should be arrested “are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented SPIRAL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION…”
Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, told The New York Times in a video podcast interview posted Saturday that he believed Mr. Netanyahu “belongs in The Hague.”
“He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court,” he said.
Mr. Netanyahu is expected to visit the city in September to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly.
Mr. Mamdani said he would “follow the laws” in New York City “because I believe that there is an importance in following the law as a leader who presides over our city, and that’s something that I plan to do.”
When asked what the law allows the mayor and the city to do, Mr. Mamdani responded, “That’s an active conversation with our legal department in seeing what the prospects are we have here in our municipality.”
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On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu reposted a statement from his office, which criticized Mr. Mamdani and the International Criminal Court.
“The ICC is a kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis,” the statement said. “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. It was a clear attempt by Khan to divert public attention and seek protection from scrutiny.”
The U.S. has not ratified the Rome Statute, which obligates nations to arrest people who have ICC warrants against them, noted U.N. ambassador Mike Waltz, who told CNN that Mr. Mamdani’s threat has no real legal footing.
The U.N. Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of government, and Mr. Waltz called Mr. Mamdani’s comments “pure political theater.”
The Trump administration has brought sanctions against Mr. Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, and several other ICC staff in retaliation for warrants the court issued against Israeli officials over the war in Gaza and investigations into U.S. officials in Afghanistan.
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Kerry Picket
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