Trending 
United States President Donald Trump has dismissed suggestions that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be arrested during September’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, following comments by the city’s newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani told The New York Times on Saturday that he believed Netanyahu should face justice at The Hague over allegations of war crimes, adding that he was consulting legal advisers on whether New York authorities had the power to detain a foreign leader if he attended the UN gathering.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said. “He’s a war criminal.”
Responding on Monday, Trump ruled out any such possibility, insisting that Netanyahu would not be arrested while in the United States.
The US president said the Israeli leader was engaged in confronting Iran and would not face detention “in any way, shape, or form” on American soil.
Netanyahu’s office also rejected Mamdani’s comments and again dismissed the ICC, describing it as a “kangaroo court.”
The Hague-based International Criminal Court said in 2024 that it had reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu was responsible for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the brutal October 7, 2023 cross-border attack by Hamas.
