Stunning Poll Finds Nearly Half of Americans Think Netanyahu Should Be Arrested

President Donald Trump meets with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Nearly half of Americans surveyed think the United States should arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a new poll from The Economist/YouGov revealed Tuesday.

Respondents were asked if the US should enforce the ICC’s warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest, and 49% answered yes. Another 27% answered no, and 23% indicated they were not sure.

When asked if Netanyahu is “guilty of war crimes in Gaza,” 47% of respondents in the poll taken between July 25 and July 27 said yes.

The arrest warrant, which was issued in 2024, has been a topic of late.

In mid-July New York City’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani told The New York Times he was in “active” conversations about whether he has the jurisdiction to arrest Netanyahu when the Prime Minister visits New York in September.

“He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court,” the mayor told Lulu Garcia-Navarro on The Interview. “And what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many, purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”

TheUnited States and Israel are among the countries that have not ratified The Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

The Clinton Administration signed the treaty but declined to ratify it in July 1998.

President Donald Trump imposed sanctions against the ICC in February 2025 for engaging “in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”

Netanyahu is expected to travel to the U.S. in September for the United Nations General Assembly.

Trump has insisted the Israeli leader would not face arrest.

“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America. 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!” Trump posted to Truth Social.

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