New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said his administration is examining whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be arrested if he travels to the city for the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Speaking on The New York Times’ The Interview podcast, Mamdani said his legal team is assessing the issue, following his earlier campaign pledge to pursue Netanyahu’s arrest if the opportunity arose.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said. “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court. And what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”
When asked whether the law would allow such a move, the mayor said the matter remains under legal review.
“That’s an active conversation with our legal department. However, what we’ve seen at the national level is a desire sometimes to write your own laws, to go outside of the bounds of legality. That’s not something we have an interest in,” he said.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Netanyahu and other Israeli officials over alleged war crimes linked to Israel’s military operations following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. Both President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden criticised the court’s decision.
The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, meaning it is not legally obligated to enforce the court’s arrest warrants. The Trump administration has also intensified its criticism of the ICC, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently pledging to “dismantle” the court and accusing it of “waging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles” but through “the force of so-called international law.”
Mamdani has consistently criticised Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, describing it as “genocide,” an allegation the Israeli government has repeatedly rejected.
His latest comments have drawn criticism from US officials. United States Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, dismissed the proposal as “pure political theater,” stressing that the US does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu also brushed aside concerns during an interview with WABC radio host Sid Rosenberg earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said Netanyahu would attend the UN General Assembly as planned.
“Will come to New York, address the United Nations General Assembly with pride, and stand before the world to state Israel’s truth and its unwavering right to defend its citizens,” Danon said.
