Trump Said Netanyahu Will Not Be Arrested During His U.S. Visit

US President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not be arrested during his visit to the United States.

“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested in any way, shape or form while in the United States of America. He is fighting the Islamic Republic of Iran, which recently killed 52,000 innocent protesters and has spent the past 47 years killing American soldiers and others. The only people who should be arrested are those who dragged Iran into this unprecedented cycle of death and destruction, which should have been dealt with many years ago under previous presidents!” Trump wrote.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. They are accused of war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, under which the ICC operates. Washington signed the document under Bill Clinton in 2000 but never ratified it, and the administration of George W. Bush formally withdrew the signature in 2002. Unlike the statute’s 125 state parties, the United States is therefore not required to enforce the court’s warrants on its territory. Israel does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction either.

The Trump administration has taken an openly hostile stance toward the court: in February 2025, the president imposed sanctions on the ICC over the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, targeting prosecutor Karim Khan and, later, several judges.