A public opinion poll conducted in the US has revealed support among Americans for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Nearly half of those surveyed said that Netanyahu should be detained on US soil under the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant.
In the survey conducted by The Economist and YouGov on July 25-27 with 1,559 Americans over 18, when asked, “The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. Should Netanyahu be arrested in the US?” 49 percent said “yes” and 27 percent said “no.” The undecided rate was 23 percent.
According to another question in the poll, 47 percent of respondents see Netanyahu as a war criminal because of the events in Gaza. While 24 percent disagreed with this view, 29 percent said they were undecided.
On the question of whether what is happening in Palestine is genocide, 43 percent of Americans described it as genocide. Disagreement was at 24 percent, while the undecided rate reached 32 percent.
ICC’s Arrest Warrant
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on November 21, 2024 for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.
New York Remarks on Netanyahu
Zohran Mamdani, identified as the Mayor of New York, stated on July 18 that if Netanyahu comes to New York for the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in September, city authorities would act under existing laws but would not pass new legislation for this purpose.
Mamdani said, “I think Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He is a war criminal indicted by the International Criminal Court.”
Netanyahu’s Response
In response to Mamdani’s remarks, Netanyahu accused him of “attacking the leader of the Jewish state, the only democracy in the Middle East.” The Israeli Prime Minister also claimed that the ICC has no jurisdiction over US and Israeli citizens.
