The New York mayor previously said he would support enforcing an international court’s arrest warrant against the Israeli leader.
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President Donald Trump said Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form” while visiting the United States, after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was exploring whether the Israeli leader could be taken into custody by city police.
Netanyahu is planning to visit New York City in September for the U.N. General Assembly. Mamdani said during his campaign for mayor that he would support arresting Netanyahu to enforce a warrant from the Hague-based International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in Gaza.
Mamdani said in a New York Times podcast episode that aired Saturday that his legal team was exploring whether there were grounds to take Netanyahu into custody. He didn’t say conclusively that he believed there was a basis to do so.
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The mayor’s comments drew condemnation from Republicans as well as some pro-Israel Democrats.
Netanyahu “is fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding, “The only ones that should be arrested are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented SPIRAL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION.”
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Read more Mamdani’s Netanyahu arrest comment highlights split among Democrats on Israel
