President Donald Trump forcefully dismissed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s suggestion that Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu could be arrested if he visits New York, declaring that such a scenario will never happen while he is president.

“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” the President stated in a post on Truth Social.

Trump defended Netanyahu’s actions on the world stage, arguing that the Israeli leader is confronting one of America’s greatest adversaries.

According to Trump, Netanyahu is “fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which recently killed 52,000 innocent protestors, and has spent the last 47 years killing American Soldiers, and others.”

The president also shifted the focus toward Iran’s leadership, saying they—not Netanyahu—should be facing criminal consequences.

He further insisted that “the only ones that should be arrested are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented SPIRAL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION, something that should have been dealt with years ago, by previous Presidents!”

The controversy erupted after Mamdani, in an interview with The New York Times published Saturday, argued that Netanyahu should stand trial before the International Criminal Court.

“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 added that his administration has already begun examining what legal authority the city might have if Netanyahu were to arrive in New York.

Mamdani also said that he is in “active conversation” with NYC’s legal officials on whether he may arrest a foreign leader, adding, “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.”

Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office swiftly condemned Mamdani’s remarks, rejecting both the legitimacy of the ICC and the warrant issued against Netanyahu.

“The ICC is a kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis. Its bogus arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu was issued by a disgraced former ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, a few days before allegations of sexual misconduct against him became public. It was a clear attempt by Khan to divert public attention and seek protection from scrutiny.”

The Prime Minister’s Office also defended Israel’s military conduct during the war against Hamas, saying the government has gone to extraordinary lengths to protect civilians despite the terrorist group’s tactics.

“Under Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leadership, Israel has taken unprecedented wartime measures to minimize harm to civilians while confronting Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that uses Palestinians as human shields and deliberately targets innocent Israeli civilians,” the office clarified.

The statement concluded by accusing Mamdani of using attacks on Israel’s prime minister to distract from problems closer to home.

“Instead of backing Khan’s criminal behaviour, Mr. Mamdani should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York. Like Karim Khan, Mamdani appears interested in diverting public attention from his follies and attacking the leader of the Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East,” the tweet concluded.

{Matzav.com}