President Donald Trump said Monday morning that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not face arrest if he travels to the United States, issuing the assurance in a forceful post on Truth Social. “Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump wrote, arguing that Netanyahu is confronting the Islamic Republic of Iran, which he accused of killing 52,000 innocent protesters and spending decades targeting American soldiers and others. Trump said the people who should be arrested are those he claimed pushed Iran into “this unprecedented spiral of death and destruction.” His remarks came as he also vowed retaliation for any American service member killed by Iran, writing that “every time Iran kills an American soldier they will pay for that killing many times over,” and saying the message had been relayed to “every leader in the military.” On Monday, the U.S. military identified two soldiers who died while serving in Jordan. In Iraq, another service member died following what was reported as a “controlled detonation” of an Iranian drone.
Netanyahu had been expected to travel to Washington, D.C., on July 18, but that visit was later called off and pushed to an unspecified date. The schedule change followed the postponement of the late Senator Lindsey Graham’s funeral until the end of the month. The White House has not said whether Netanyahu intends to attend Graham’s memorial services. At the same time, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration is still weighing whether the Israeli leader could be arrested if he comes to the city for the United Nations General Assembly in September. Netanyahu has been described by some critics as an alleged war criminal after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him on November 21, 2024, accusing him of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity tied to the war in Gaza.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said during an appearance on a New York Times program, referring to the Dutch city that hosts major international courts, including the United Nations’ International Court of Justice. Speaking again on Monday, Mamdani said he believes the international case against Netanyahu should be treated with seriousness. “My administration will follow all applicable local laws,” he told reporters. “If someone is charged with a warrant by the International Criminal Court for these kinds of crimes, that’s something I believe that should be honored.” During a previous interview as a candidate, Mamdani told the Times he would direct the New York Police Department to arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister came to New York. The comments drew sharp criticism, including from U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, who dismissed the remarks as “pure political theater.” “Federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes,” Waltz wrote on X.
Waltz, a Trump ally, went on to argue that Mamdani would not have the legal power to arrest Netanyahu, pointing to diplomatic protections afforded to visiting heads of government during United Nations events and stressing that federal authority supersedes the preferences of any local mayor. House Republicans quickly echoed that response, urging Mamdani to focus on New York City issues rather than Israel’s prime minister. “Mamdani is threatening to arrest the head of one of our closest allies,” the group wrote. “He should stop politicizing local law enforcement and interfering with U.S. foreign policy and instead focus on rising rent and housing prices and antisemitism in NYC.” Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams also criticized Mamdani’s position, calling it “reckless.” “This isn’t a college protest. This is the City of New York. Threatening to arrest the democratically elected leader of one of America’s closest allies during UN General Assembly week isn’t bold. It’s reckless,” Adams wrote on X.
Netanyahu responded directly to Mamdani’s comments during a recent radio interview, saying he was “not concerned” and accusing the New York mayor of supporting Hamas. “I think he should look at who he’s condemning, who he’s praising,” Netanyahu said. “He’s condemning Israel, the one democracy that stands shoulder to shoulder with American values.” The Israeli prime minister also claimed that Mamdani “secretly hates America.” He added: “Who does he champion? Hamas, that calls openly to massacre every Jew on earth, that conducted that horrible massacre, the worst massacre on Jews since the Holocaust.” The dispute comes amid a broader political shift in Washington over U.S. support for Israel. On Capitol Hill last week, nearly half of House Democrats voted to end American aid to Israel. The measure did not receive enough support to pass, but the vote underscored growing divisions within the party over one of the United States’ most important allies in the Middle East.
