President Donald Trump said on July 24 that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit the United States next week.
Trump made the announcement during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, where he criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is Jewish, by calling him a Palestinian.
“I am going to send [Schumer] a beautiful Palestinian outfit tomorrow, so he can greet Bibi Netanyahu when he comes to town next week,” Trump said in his speech.
Netanyahu’s office also confirmed on Friday that the Israeli leader will travel to Washington next week to attend the funeral service for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
“At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will depart this coming Monday for a visit to Washington,” Netanyahu’s office said.
The visit comes amid an escalating conflict in the Middle East, with the U.S. military resuming attacks on Iran and Tehran retaliating by targeting U.S. military sites across Middle East nations.
Netanyahu’s trip also comes after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called on the Trump administration to execute the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) warrant against the Israeli leader.
The ICC charged Netanyahu and former Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant in 2024 with crimes related to Israel’s war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people.
“My administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here,” Mamdani said in a July 21 video posted on X.
“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant. The federal government, however, does.”
In December 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sanctioned two judges from the ICC, accusing them of being directly engaged in the “illegitimate targeting” of Israel.