New York Mayor Says He Is Exploring Possible Arrest of Netanyahu During UN Visit

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

New York Mayor Says He Is Exploring Possible Arrest of Netanyahu During UN Visit

Zohran Mamdani calls Israeli PM a “war criminal” and says his legal department is actively reviewing whether city authorities can enforce an ICC warrant, as US envoy dismisses the threat as “pure political theater”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said his administration is actively examining whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be arrested if he visits the city for the United Nations General Assembly in September. Speaking on The New York Times’ “The Interview” podcast, Mamdani said the city’s legal department is assessing the matter, which aligns with a campaign pledge he made during the mayoral race. “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 about the legal authority available to his office, Mamdani said the issue remains under active 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.” The mayor clarified that he would act only within the bounds of existing law. “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.” The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders in 2024 over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the war in Gaza, following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. Both President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden criticised the court’s decision.

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Any attempt by New York authorities to enforce the warrant would face major legal obstacles. The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC and requires member states to execute the court’s arrest warrants. Former prosecutors have warned that any attempt by Mamdani or New York police officials to arrest Netanyahu based on an ICC warrant would violate US federal law and could expose them to federal conspiracy charges. US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz dismissed the mayor’s comments on Saturday, describing them as “pure political theater.” In a social media post, Waltz outlined four reasons why the arrest “is not going to happen”: the US is not party to the Rome Statute; the UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of government; head-of-state immunity applies; and federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes. The Trump administration has escalated its long-running battle against 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 with “the force of so-called international law.”

Netanyahu dismissed the concerns during an interview earlier in the week with WABC radio host Sid Rosenberg, accusing Mamdani of supporting Hamas and suggesting the mayor “secretly hates America.” Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said on social media on Saturday that Netanyahu “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 also accused Mamdani of failing to confront the “rising wave of antisemitism” in New York City and suggested that “if anyone should be arrested, it is Mayor Zohran Mamdani.”