Americans back arresting Netanyahu over ICC warrant – poll

Poll shows just 27% of Americans oppose arresting Israel’s prime minister based on the International Criminal Court warrant, even though neither Israel nor the US is a member of the ICC.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

A plurality of Americans believe US authorities should arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a new Economist/YouGov poll released during Netanyahu’s visit to Washington.

The survey found that 49% supported arresting Netanyahu based on the warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court, while 27% opposed an arrest and 23% were unsure. The 22-point gap between supporters and opponents reflected sharply divided views along partisan, ideological and generational lines.

Support for arresting Netanyahu reached 68% among Democrats and 55% among independents, compared with 24% among Republicans. Among people who voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, 74% favored an arrest, while 23% of Trump voters agreed.

Republicans opposed an arrest by a 53%-24% margin. Among self-described MAGA Republicans, 61% opposed detaining Netanyahu and 21% supported it.

Younger Americans were substantially more supportive of an arrest than older respondents. Fifty-eight percent of adults between 18 and 29 said Netanyahu should be detained, compared with 43% of those 65 and older.

The poll was conducted from July 25 through July 27 among 1,559 US adult citizens and had an overall margin of error of approximately 3.3 percentage points.

The results were released as Netanyahu traveled to Washington for a meeting with President Donald Trump and the funeral of the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. Netanyahu is also expected to visit New York in September for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.

Netanyahu said Tuesday that opposition from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has called for action against him under the ICC warrant, would not deter him.

“I’m going to New York,” Netanyahu said during an interview with Fox News.

Trump has ruled out any possibility that his administration would detain the Israeli leader.

“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump wrote earlier this month.

The ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024.

The warrants are accusations rather than convictions, and Netanyahu has not been tried by the court.

The US and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. Washington rejects the court’s jurisdiction over Israeli and American nationals and has imposed sanctions on ICC officials over the case.

The Trump administration has described the warrants as baseless. Netanyahu has called the court a “corrupt, evil organization” and accused it of targeting Israel while failing to hold terrorist groups adequately accountable.

Mamdani had pledged during his mayoral campaign to have Netanyahu arrested if he entered New York. He later acknowledged that the city does not have independent legal authority to execute the ICC warrant and urged federal officials to act instead.

The new poll also showed that negative opinions of Netanyahu extend beyond the arrest question.

Forty-seven percent of respondents said they believed Netanyahu was guilty of war crimes in Gaza, compared with 24% who said he was not. Another 29% were unsure.

The survey separately found that 43% believed Israel was committing genocide against Palestinian civilians, while 24% disagreed and 32% were uncertain. The ICC warrant against Netanyahu does not include an allegation of genocide.

Forty-seven percent also said Netanyahu’s actions had damaged relations between Israel and the US. Twenty-four percent said they had not, while 29% were unsure.

Democrats were substantially more likely to hold Netanyahu responsible for alleged crimes. Seventy-one percent said they believed he was guilty of war crimes, compared with 20% of Republicans. Sixty-one percent of Democrats said his actions had damaged US-Israel relations, while 30% of Republicans agreed.

The poll’s findings follow other surveys indicating a continued deterioration in Netanyahu’s standing among Americans. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in March found that 59% of US adults had little or no confidence in Netanyahu to make appropriate decisions on world affairs, up from 52% a year earlier.

Pew also found that 60% held an unfavorable view of Israel, compared with 53% in 2025 and 42% in 2022. Republican opinion remained more favorable than Democratic opinion, although younger Republicans were significantly more critical of Israel and Netanyahu than older members of the party.

Despite the public-opinion shift, Trump has continued to defend Netanyahu and Israel against the ICC. Netanyahu, following his meeting with Trump on Tuesday, described relations between the two governments as solid and dismissed reports of a growing rupture between the leaders.

“I always hate to disappoint our would-be critics who are trying to find cracks in our alliance,” Netanyahu said. “What they find, like today, is a wall of granite.”

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