By Doina Chiacu
July 20 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not going to be arrested when he visits the U.S., after New York Metropolis Mayor Zohran Mamdani mentioned he was nonetheless contemplating the transfer.
“Benjamin Netanyahu is not going to be arrested, in any manner, form, or type, whereas in the US of America,” Trump wrote in a social media put up that didn’t confer with the mayor’s feedback.
The Hague-based Worldwide Prison Court docket issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 for alleged conflict crimes throughout the Gaza conflict. Israel rejects the courtroom’s jurisdiction and denies committing conflict crimes.
Trump didn’t point out Mamdani in his Fact Social put up, however credited Israel with serving to within the Iran conflict.
The New York Metropolis mayor mentioned in an interview broadcast on Saturday that the town’s authorized division is actively contemplating what the legislation may enable.
“I imagine that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He’s a conflict prison who has been charged by the Worldwide Prison Court docket,” Mamdani informed a New York Occasions video podcast known as “The Interview.”
ISRAEL SAYS ICC ARREST WARRANT IS ’BOGUS’
Netanyahu historically travels to New York each September for the annual gathering of world leaders on the United Nations Normal Meeting.
Israel responded to Mamdani’s feedback on Sunday in an X put up that known as the ICC a kangaroo courtroom and the arrest warrant towards Netanyahu bogus.
“Mamdani seems keen on diverting public consideration from his follies and attacking the chief of the Jewish state and the one democracy within the Center East,” it mentioned.
The ICC was established in 2002 and has worldwide jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes towards humanity and conflict crimes. The US and Israel are usually not members of the courtroom.
Mamdani, who took workplace in January, mentioned throughout his mayoral marketing campaign that he would have police arrest Netanyahu if he set foot in New York Metropolis.
Final November, shortly after Mamdani’s election victory, the mayor-elect and Trump held an unexpectedly pleasant assembly within the White Home regardless that that they had beforehand traded insults.
