{"id":549252,"date":"2026-07-19T16:37:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T16:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/549252\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T16:37:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T16:37:10","slug":"hes-a-war-criminal-mamdani-exploring-whether-he-can-arrest-netanyahu-if-he-visits-new-york-zohran-mamdani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/549252\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018He\u2019s a war criminal\u2019: Mamdani exploring whether he can arrest Netanyahu if he visits New York | Zohran Mamdani"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> has said he was reviewing whether his administration could arrest Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> if as expected the Israeli prime minister visits the city for the UN general assembly in September.<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s comments on Saturday\u2019s episode of the New York Times\u2019s the Interview podcast<\/a> echoed ones he had made to the publication as he successfully ran for mayor last fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that prime minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,\u201d Mamdani said, referring to the Dutch city that is home to the international criminal court, which issued<\/a> an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024 over alleged war crimes in Gaza. \u201cHe\u2019s 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 past many years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani said it was unclear to him whether he has the legal authority to order the New York<\/a> police department (NYPD), which he oversees, to detain a foreign leader like Netanyahu. But he said he was in \u201can active conversation\u201d with the city\u2019s law department about the matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that\u2019s what we will do,\u201d Mamdani added. \u201cBut we won\u2019t be writing our own laws to that end.\u201d<\/p>\n

The warrant<\/a> which the ICC issued for the arrest of Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders accused them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza<\/a>, including \u201cstarvation as a method of warfare, and \u2026 murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts\u201d.<\/p>\n

During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani characterized Israel\u2019s military actions in Gaza as a genocide<\/a> and Netanyahu as a war criminal, telling the New York Times<\/a> in September that he would order NYPD to arrest Netanyahu in the event he ever set foot there. He also condemned<\/a> the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel as a \u201chorrific war crime\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Times report back then cited legal experts who judged that having Netanyahu arrested \u201cwould be a practical impossibility\u201d for Mamdani \u2013 and could bring him into direct conflict with the US\u2019s federal government.<\/p>\n

The US is not a party to the ICC and does not recognize its authority. And in February 2025, early in his presidency, Donald Trump<\/a> ordered economic sanctions against the court, maintaining that it lacked jurisdiction over the US or Israel.<\/p>\n

Trumps\u2019s US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, then recently vowed to \u201cdismantle\u201d the court<\/a>, accusing it of \u201cwaging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles\u201d but with \u201cthe force of so-called international law\u201d.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu, who faces a tough re-election campaign<\/a> in October, brushed off Mamdani\u2019s arrest threats in a recent radio appearance, saying he was not concerned.<\/p>\n

Though Mamdani denies the accusation, Netanyahu also alleged Mamdani supports Hamas.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s with the terror actors,\u201d Netanyahu told New York\u2019s WABC<\/a>. \u201cAnd I think the problem is that he doesn\u2019t recognize and he doesn\u2019t care that those who hate the Jews and Israel ultimately hate America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, accused Mamdani \u2013 New York\u2019s first Muslim mayor \u2013 of failing to confront rising antisemitism in his city. Mamdani has countered such accusations by noting that he has increased funding for an office to combat hate crimes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsraeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will come to New York, address the United Nations General Assembly with pride, and stand before the world to state Israel\u2019s truth and its unwavering right to defend its citizens,\u201d Danon said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, also dismissed<\/a> Mamdani\u2019s threat as \u201cpure political theater\u201d, saying the US is not a member of the ICC.<\/p>\n

World leaders from United Nations member-states are expected to travel to New York in September for the body\u2019s annual session. Netanyahu has often participated in this event in previous years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not talking about a personal assessment of Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>,\u201d Mamdani told the Times\u2019 podcast. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about the international criminal court and the fact that they have a warrant out for this prime minister\u2019s arrest, and I think it\u2019s important to talk about the weight that that has as a charge and that also, as the mayor of New York City, I\u2019ll be following the laws of New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s comments on Saturday came as his stance on Israel is becoming less fringe<\/a> within the Democratic party.<\/p>\n

Close to half of US House Democrats on Wednesday voted<\/a> to strip $3.3bn in military aid to Israel. It was not enough to pass the measure. But it signified a buckling of unconditional support<\/a> for Israel, a shift that is also reflected in public opinion<\/a> polling.<\/p>\n

Asked by the Times about the political weight he places on Israel and support for it by the US, Mamdani said ongoing war in Gaza was motivating voters throughout the country, including when his endorsed candidates swept House races<\/a> in New York in June.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is hard to find a more bankrupt policy approach than what our country has done to Gaza and to Palestine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n