WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed a threat from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani who was still considering a move to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes when he visits the city to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump wrote in a social media post that did not refer to the mayor’s comments.Trump did not mention Mamdani in his Truth Social post, but credited Israel with helping in the war against Iran.Mamdani said in an interview broadcast on Saturday that the city’s legal department is actively considering what the law allows it to do.“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court,” Mamdani told a New York Times video podcast called “The Interview.”Headded that his view is shared by many, given the actions the Israeli leader has “wrought over these last many years”.Netanyahu traditionally travels to New York every September for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.Mamdani said he remains uncertain whether he has the legal authority to direct the police department, which he oversees, to detain a foreign leader and that he is in “an active conversation” with the city’s Law Department.“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,” he said.Posting on X, Israel dismissed Mamdani’s remarks, calling the ICC a “kangaroo court” and its warrant “bogus”, while accusing him of trying to divert attention from his own troubles.The ICC, established in 2002 to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, has jurisdiction which Israel rejects; neither Israel nor the United States is a member of the court.The Trump administration has launched a campaign to try to disable the ICC, imposing sanctions on judges, prosecutors and groups that seek rulings against Israel over allegations of human rights violations.The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes during the Gaza war. Israel rejects the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes.The ICC, established in 2002 to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, has jurisdiction which Israel rejects; neither Israel nor the United States is a member of the court.The Trump administration has launched a campaign to try to disable the ICC, imposing sanctions on judges, prosecutors and groups that seek rulings against Israel over allegations of human rights violations.
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