New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reaffirmed his belief that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu should be arrested if he visits New York for the United Nations General Assembly this September, while acknowledging that he cannot simply rewrite the law to make it happen.
In an interview with The New York Times, Mamdani said he believes Netanyahu “belongs in The Hague” and described him as “a war criminal” based on the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
“I’ve also said that I will follow the laws that we have here in New York City because I believe that there is an importance in following the law as a leader who presides over our city,” Mamdani said.
When asked whether he still intended to carry out his campaign promise to arrest Netanyahu, Mamdani responded, “Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end.”
He added that his administration is currently having “an active conversation” with the city’s legal department to determine what authority, if any, the mayor’s office has should Netanyahu travel to New York.
Legal experts have widely dismissed the idea, noting that the United States is not a party to the ICC and that federal law does not authorize local governments to enforce ICC arrest warrants. In addition, federal law generally governs matters involving foreign heads of state. Last year, New York Governor Kathy Hochul also stated that the mayor has no authority to arrest Netanyahu.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu in 2024, alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Israel’s military campaign against Hamas following the October 7, 2023 massacre. Israel has strongly rejected the allegations, calling them baseless and politically motivated.
Responding to Mamdani’s latest remarks, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, sharply criticized the mayor.
“Mamdani is failing to govern New York,” Danon said. “Instead of focusing on his responsibilities as mayor and confronting the rising wave of antisemitism in his city, he has chosen to incite hostility and generate headlines by attacking the State of Israel.”
Danon added that Netanyahu will attend the UN General Assembly “with pride” and declared, “If anyone should be arrested, it is NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani.”
During the interview, Mamdani also said he would not support a future Democratic presidential candidate, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, unless they backed restricting U.S. military aid to Israel. He argued that candidates should support legislation to block certain weapons transfers to Israel and accused the United States of being complicit in what he described as “genocide” in Gaza—a characterization Israel strongly rejects.
Despite his criticism of U.S. policy toward Israel, Mamdani said he still believes in a “big tent” Democratic Party and would work with Democrats who disagree with him on Israel.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has previously said he will not be deterred from attending the annual UN General Assembly despite Mamdani’s repeated statements.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
