WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested when he visits the United States, after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was still considering the move.
“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump wrote in a social media post that did not refer to the mayor’s comments.
Trump did not mention Mamdani in his Truth Social post, but credited Israel with helping in the war against Iran.
The New York City mayor said in an interview broadcast on Saturday that the city’s legal department is actively considering what the law allows it to do.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court,” Mamdani told a New York Times video podcast called “The Interview.”
Netanyahu traditionally travels to New York every September for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes during the Gaza war. Israel rejects the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes.
