Trump says Netanyahu will not be arrested in the United States amid New York detention debate

Trump has rejected the idea that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be arrested in the United States, after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration was still considering whether such a move would be legal. The dispute centres on whether New York authorities could act on an International Criminal Court warrant if Netanyahu travels to the city for the United Nations General Assembly in September. It has brought together questions of local authority, federal power and international law.

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Trump said on Monday that Netanyahu "will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form" while in the US. His comments followed Mamdani's remarks that he was in an "active conversation" with the city's Law Department about the issue and was not yet sure what powers he had to direct the police. Mamdani said that whatever the law allows him to do in New York City is what his administration would do, but that it would not "write our own laws" for the purpose.

The row has added pressure to preparations for the annual UN gathering, which typically draws heads of state and government to New York each September. Netanyahu has regularly travelled to the city for the meeting, and the possibility of a detention attempt would create a significant legal and diplomatic confrontation. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024, accusing him of war crimes in connection with Israel's war in Gaza, a charge he rejects.

The issue also highlights the limits of the court's reach outside The Hague. Israel and the United States are not members of the International Criminal Court, and both have rejected its authority in this case. Israel has described the warrant as bogus and called the court a kangaroo court, while the Trump administration has moved against the institution by sanctioning judges, prosecutors and groups involved in cases against Israel.

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Mamdani's comments during his mayoral campaign, when he said he would order police to arrest Netanyahu if he entered the city, have now become part of a wider debate over how a municipal government might respond to an international warrant. The discussion is especially sensitive because it involves a foreign leader, a federal ally and a city that hosts one of the world's most closely watched diplomatic events. It also raises the question of whether any local action could survive legal challenge.

What remains unclear is whether Mamdani has any legal basis to direct such an arrest, and whether the matter will move beyond political statements before the UN meeting. The next point to watch is whether city lawyers issue a clearer view on the scope of mayoral authority. It is also unclear whether Netanyahu will attend the gathering in person and, if he does, how New York and federal officials would respond.

Donald Trump has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested while in the United States, after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was considering whether to detain him during the next United Nations General Assembly. The exchange has drawn attention because it touches both on diplomatic protocol and on the legal limits of local authority in a high-profile international visit. The issue is centred on New York, where the annual UN gathering is due to take place in September.

Trump made the remarks on Monday, saying Netanyahu is fighting Iran and arguing that those responsible for what he described as a "spiral of unprecedented death and destruction" should be the ones facing arrest. Mamdani, in comments made on Saturday, said he was debating the legality of such a move with his city legal team. He also acknowledged that he was not sure whether he had the authority to direct the New York Police Department to detain a foreign leader.

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The mayor has previously said he would use the city police to enforce arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court against wanted leaders, including Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin. That position has added a legal dimension to the political dispute, because it raises questions about how a city government could respond to international warrants and whether local police would have any role in such enforcement. The comments have also placed New York at the centre of a broader argument over the reach of international justice.

The dispute matters because the United Nations General Assembly brings together world leaders in New York each year, making the city a focal point for diplomacy, protest and security planning. Any suggestion that a visiting head of government could be detained would create immediate legal and diplomatic complications. It would also test the relationship between municipal authority, federal power and the obligations that may arise from international court decisions.

The row comes against the backdrop of continuing tensions involving Israel and Iran, which Trump referenced directly in his defence of Netanyahu. It also reflects the wider debate over the International Criminal Court and how its warrants are treated outside The Hague. The court said in 2024 that it had reasonable grounds in a separate context, and Mamdani's comments indicate that his administration is at least examining how far New York could go in responding to such cases.

What remains unclear is whether Mamdani would have any legal basis to order a detention, and whether the issue would ever move beyond political rhetoric. The practical question is how New York authorities would handle a visit by Netanyahu if the matter were pressed further before the UN meeting. For now, Trump has made clear that he expects Netanyahu to be safe from arrest on US soil, while Mamdani says he is still consulting lawyers.

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