US President Donald Trump on Monday said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not face arrest in the United States, responding to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s “plan” to detain the Israeli leader during his visit for the United Nations General Assembly in September.This is not the first time Mamdani, a vocal critic of Netanyahu over Israel’s war in Gaza, has spoken about “arresting” him in New York City.“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America. 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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.“The only ones that should be arrested are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented SPIRAL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION, something that should have been dealt with years ago, by previous Presidents!” he added.Trump’s remarks came after Mamdani said his administration was examining whether it had any legal authority to act against Netanyahu when the Israeli prime minister visits New York City. However, the mayor clarified that any potential arrest would only be carried out under an existing law.Netanyahu faces an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant over alleged “crimes against humanity” in Gaza. The warrant means he could be arrested if he enters the territory of a country that is party to the ICC.“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. I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court,” Mamdani told The New York Times in an interview.The ICC is based in The Hague, Netherlands.
