Netanyahu says 'special forces' ready if he is arrested during NY visit
The Israeli prime minister says he will not cancel his planned New York trip despite an ICC arrest warrant and calls Mayor Zohran Mamdani a “hate-spewing elected official”.
Highlights:
- Israeli leader plans to visit New York despite warrant
- ICC issued arrest warrant against Netanyahu in 2024
- Mamdani urges US government to enforce arrest warrant
- Trump says Netanyahu will not be arrested in America
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is not afraid of being arrested as a suspected war criminal during a planned visit to New York, claiming that "special forces" are ready if an attempt is made to detain him.
In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday (30 July), Netanyahu said he had considered the possibility of being arrested if a medical emergency forced him to land in a country that recognises the International Criminal Court (ICC), reports United Kingdom (UK) based newspaper The Independent.
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"Yeah, I think about it," Netanyahu said. "You know, we have special forces around. I served for five years."
When Hannity described the Israeli military as "pretty tough", Netanyahu responded: "Yeah. Let's give them a new task."
Netanyahu also said he had no plans to cancel his impending trip to New York.
"First of all, I'm going to New York... I'm going to speak the truth in front of this hate-spewing elected official," he said.
"He's pitting one group of New Yorkers against the others. He's turning them against New York Jews. I mean, what are we, in the 1930s? So much hate. So many lies."
ICC arrest warrant
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024, accusing him of being responsible for "the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population" in Gaza.
He is also accused of "crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024".
Netanyahu denies the allegations and has called them "antisemitic".
The ICC has 124 member states, including the UK, whose authorities would be obliged to arrest Netanyahu if he entered their territory under the court's warrant. The US is not a member of the ICC.
Mamdani calls for Netanyahu's arrest
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently called on the US federal government to enforce the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu.
"I believe that prime minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague," Mamdani told The New York Times.
"He's a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court. And what you will find is that it is an opinion that is held by many purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years."
Mamdani later clarified that New York City does not have jurisdiction to enforce the warrant but urged the federal government to take action.
US President Donald Trump, however, has said Netanyahu will not be arrested if he lands in the US.
"Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
"He 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 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!"
