According to Reuters, on July 20 local time, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not be arrested during his visit to the United States.
Previously, New York Mayor Bloomberg stated that he was considering taking this action.
On July 20 local time, Trump posted on social media stating that Netanyahu would not be arrested in any way or form during his stay in the United States.
Trump did not mention Mamdani's remarks, only stated that Netanyahu is fighting against Iran. He also claimed that "Iran has recently killed 52,000 innocent protesters, and has killed American soldiers and other personnel over the past 47 years."
Trump said, “The only people who should be arrested are those who have dragged Iran into this unprecedented cycle of death and destruction. This issue should have been resolved by the previous presidents many years ago.”
In 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu, charging him with "crimes against humanity and war crimes committed between October 8, 2023, and at least May 20, 2024".
As early as during his tenure as a candidate for New York City, Mamdani said that if Netanyahu visited New York, he would be arrested.
On July 18th, Mamdani reiterated that he is in discussions with relevant municipal departments regarding whether New York has the authority to arrest Netanyahu if he travels to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly in September this year.
In response to this, Netanyahu's office issued a statement on July 19, condemning Mamdani's remarks and criticizing the International Criminal Court as a "kangaroo court" (a court that rushes around handling cases without any attention to justice).
The statement says that Mamdani should focus on repairing the damage his policies have caused to New York.
Netanyahu's office also claimed that Mamdani's actions were intended to divert public attention from "his foolish behavior" by targeting "the Jewish state and its leaders, the only democratic country in the Middle East".
