Donald Trump Vows Not to Arrest Benjamin Netanyahu in U.S.

President Donald Trump rejected calls to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the United States, asserting that the Israeli leader would not be detained in any capacity while on American soil. The statement followed an Economist/YouGov poll showing 49% of Americans believe the U.S. should arrest Netanyahu based on International Criminal Court warrants for war crimes in Gaza.

Netanyahu visited the White House for a closed-door meeting with Trump and is scheduled to attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham. During these discussions, Netanyahu is expected to urge the U.S. to escalate the war and resume strikes on Iran. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly called for federal authorities to arrest Netanyahu, labeling him a war criminal.

In a Fox News interview, Netanyahu dismissed the ICC charges as bogus and described the court as a corrupt, unelected bureaucracy. He warned that the court could similarly target U.S. soldiers or the American president. When asked about the risk of being arrested during emergency landings in ICC-recognizing countries, Netanyahu suggested Israeli special forces could be assigned a new task to manage such situations. He further characterized Mayor Mamdani as a hate-spewing official and reaffirmed that Israel would respond with terrific force to any attacks from Iran.