Trump vows Netanyahu won't be arrested in NYC despite Mamdani threat

Dave Goldiner and Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Jul 20, 2026

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U.S. President Donald Trump Monday vowed that Benjamin Netanyahu won’t be arrested if the Israeli prime minister visits NYC, despite past threats by Mayor Zohran Mamdani to enforce an International Criminal Court warrant.

Without mentioning Mamdani, Trump insisted Netanyahu, a key ally in the U.S. war against Iran, is free to come to the city as he plans to do for the annual United Nations General Assembly in September.

“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump posted on his social media site. “The only ones that should be arrested are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented SPIRAL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION.”

Mamdani has suggested he would consider arresting Netanyahu because the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for him on war crimes charges stemming from the war in Gaza. The mayor has repeatedly called the war a genocide against the Palestinians.

But on Monday, the mayor appeared to walk back the threat a bit, saying only that NYC “takes seriously” its responsibilities under international law.

“When someone is charged with an international criminal warrant that is something that should be taken seriously, whether it’s Benjamin Netanyahu or it’s Vladimir Putin or whoever else,” Mamdani said at an unrelated event. “What I’ve also made clear is that my administration will follow all applicable local laws.”

The U.S. is not a party in the International Criminal Court and does not recognize its authority, leading some legal experts to question whether Mamdani has the authority to order Netanyahu’s arrest.

Netanyahu has said he’s not worried about getting busted by the NYPD if he jets into the city for the UNGA, which takes place in the second half of September, and has denounced Mamdani as a supporter of the Hamas terror group.

His office derided the ICC order as a “bogus arrest warrant.”

“The ICC is a kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis,” Netanyahu’s office said.

Some Israeli political analysts say the feud with Mamdani could give a domestic political boost to Netanyahu as he faces a likely tricky reelection fight sometime in the fall.

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