Nearly half of Americans want Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be arrested by US authorities during his visit to the US, according to an Economist/YouGov poll cited by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The poll found that 49% of Americans wanted to see Netanyahu arrested, including 74% of Kamala Harris voters and 23% of voters who supported President Trump. The survey also found that 54% of Americans view the Israeli leader unfavorably and that 47% believe he’s guilty of war crimes and has damaged US-Israel relations.
A separate poll published by YouGov on July 23 had similar results, with 46% of respondents saying Netanyahu should be arrested if he entered the US, and 28% saying he should not. That poll found that 28% of Republicans and 68% of Democrats supported the Israeli leader’s arrest.
The results come after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he believed Netanyahu was a “war criminal” and called on federal authorities to arrest the Israeli leader to enforce the International Criminal Court warrant against him for his role in war crimes in Gaza. President Trump responded by saying that Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.”
Netanyahu met with Trump and his top officials at the White House on Tuesday and is due to attend the funeral for Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was known for his staunch support for Israel and the US-Israel relationship. During his talks with Trump, Netanyahu was expected to push for the US to restart strikes on Iran and escalate the war.
