Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a defiant response to the lingering threat of arrest under an International Criminal Court warrant, stating that Israel’s special forces stand prepared should any country attempt to detain him during international travel. The remarks came during a high-profile interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity while Netanyahu was visiting the United States in late July 2026, underscoring his determination to continue foreign engagements despite the legal cloud hanging over him since 2024.
Hannity pressed the Israeli leader on the practical risks of the warrant. “You travel internationally. God forbid you had a medical emergency, and you need to land, and you’re about to land in a country that recognizes the ICC. It could complicate things. Do you worry about that?” the host asked. Netanyahu did not dismiss the concern outright. “Yeah, I think about it,” he replied. “You know, we have special forces around. I served for five years.” When Hannity noted that the Israel Defense Forces have a reputation for toughness, Netanyahu smiled and added, “Yeah. Let’s give them a new task.”
The exchange was widely interpreted as a thinly veiled warning that Israeli special forces could be tasked with extracting or protecting the prime minister if an arrest attempt materialised on foreign soil. Netanyahu’s reference to his own military service points to his time in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, Israel’s premier special reconnaissance and counter-terrorism force. He enlisted in the IDF in 1967, served approximately five years in the unit until 1972, and participated in several operations, including the 1972 rescue of hostages from a hijacked Sabena airliner. His older brother, Yonatan “Yoni” Netanyahu, later commanded the same unit and was killed leading the famous Entebbe raid in 1976.
The comments come against the backdrop of Netanyahu’s planned attendance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2026. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has repeatedly targeted the Israeli leader over the ICC case. During his mayoral campaign and early in office, Mamdani had pledged that the New York Police Department would enforce the warrant if Netanyahu set foot in the city. After reviewing legal options, however, Mamdani acknowledged that city authorities lack the independent power to arrest a visiting foreign head of state. In a video statement, he called Netanyahu a “war criminal,” declared him “not welcome in New York City,” and urged the federal government to join the ICC and execute the warrant.
Netanyahu responded with characteristic sharpness. He confirmed he would travel to New York and speak at the UN. “I’m going to speak the truth in front of this hate-spewing elected official who’s pitting one group of New Yorkers against the others. He’s turning them against New York Jews,” the prime minister said. “I mean, what are we, in the 1930s? What is this? So much hate, so many lies.” He described the ICC itself as “a corrupt, evil organization.”
The arrest warrants at the heart of the controversy were issued by the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber on 21 November 2024. Judges found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant bore criminal responsibility as co-perpetrators for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. The chamber also held that both men bore responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population. The alleged conduct covered the period from at least 8 October 2023 to 20 May 2024 and focused on the deprivation of food, water, medicine, fuel, and electricity to Gaza’s civilian population. A parallel warrant was issued for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif.
Israel has consistently rejected the ICC’s jurisdiction and the substance of the allegations. Netanyahu has argued that the court is politically biased and that Israel facilitated substantial humanitarian aid into Gaza, claiming at one point that “we gave a million tons of food for them.” The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute that created the ICC, and successive American administrations have opposed the court’s actions against Israeli officials. During Netanyahu’s July 2026 visit, President Donald Trump reaffirmed the strength of the US-Israel alliance. Netanyahu described their meeting as excellent and said the relationship remained “a granite wall,” with both leaders aligned against Iran’s nuclear ambitions and regional threats.
The practical impact of the warrant has been uneven. More than 120 countries are parties to the Rome Statute and are, in principle, obliged to arrest individuals subject to ICC warrants if those individuals enter their territory. In practice, enforcement has varied. Several European governments have indicated they would fulfil their legal obligations, while others have allowed Netanyahu’s aircraft to transit their airspace without incident. The United States has made clear that no arrest will occur on American soil. Netanyahu’s public invocation of special forces readiness appears designed both to deter any opportunistic detention and to reassure domestic audiences that he will not be constrained by international legal pressure.
Critics of Netanyahu’s remarks argue that any Israeli military operation on the soil of a sovereign state without consent would constitute a serious violation of international law and risk a major diplomatic crisis. Supporters view the comments as a legitimate assertion of national self-defence and a rejection of what they see as a politicised judicial process. Netanyahu himself framed the issue more broadly, warning that an unchecked ICC could one day target American leaders or soldiers fighting alongside Israel against shared adversaries such as Iran. “They could say that the president of the US is a war criminal, that American soldiers valiantly fight next to us, shoulder-to-shoulder against the tyranny in Tehran, that they’re war criminals. They could pick them up,” he told Hannity.
The episode highlights the persistent tensions surrounding the Gaza conflict that began after the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023. Israel maintains that its military campaign has been a necessary response to an existential terrorist threat and that it has sought to minimise civilian harm while facilitating aid. Palestinian advocates and human rights organisations point to the scale of destruction, displacement, and civilian casualties as evidence of systematic violations. The ICC’s intervention has polarised international opinion further, with some states welcoming the warrants as a step toward accountability and others condemning them as selective and antisemitic.
For Netanyahu, the stakes remain personal and political. As a long-serving leader whose career has been defined by security issues, he continues to project an image of unyielding resolve. His decision to travel to New York, his public dismissal of the mayor’s threats, and his explicit reference to special forces readiness all serve the same purpose: to demonstrate that neither the ICC nor its supporters will dictate the terms of his international engagement. Whether the warrant will ever be enforced remains uncertain. What is clear is that Netanyahu intends to test the limits of its reach while relying on Israel’s military capabilities and its closest allies to shield him from its consequences.
The coming months, particularly the September UN session in New York, will provide the next major test of how seriously states take their obligations under the Rome Statute and how far Netanyahu is prepared to push the boundaries of diplomatic immunity and national self-help. For now, the Israeli prime minister has made his position unmistakable: he will travel as he sees fit, and Israel’s elite forces stand ready should anyone attempt to stop him.
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