NEW YORK (MNN); New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said his administration is reviewing whether the city has the legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he visit New York for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly later this year.
Speaking in an interview with The New York Times, published on Saturday, Mamdani said he was in active discussions with New York City’s Law Department to determine what legal powers, if any, are available to the city in relation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu.
The ICC has accused the Israeli prime minister of alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes linked to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, including allegations involving the use of starvation as a method of warfare. Israel rejects the allegations and disputes the ICC’s jurisdiction over the matter.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said during the interview, referring to the city where the ICC is based. He added that the Israeli leader had been formally charged by the court and described him as a “war criminal.”
Mamdani said many people around the world share that opinion because of the humanitarian consequences of Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
However, the mayor acknowledged that it remains unclear whether he possesses the legal authority to direct the New York Police Department (NYPD), which falls under his administration, to detain a visiting foreign leader.
“Our responsibility is to follow the law,” Mamdani said. “Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do. We are not going to write our own laws.”
His comments come as Netanyahu is expected to travel to New York in September to address world leaders during the annual UN General Assembly.
The remarks immediately drew criticism from Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, who accused the mayor of seeking publicity instead of addressing challenges facing New York City.
Writing on social media platform X, Danon said Mamdani should focus on combating antisemitism rather than targeting Israel.
He insisted that Netanyahu would travel to New York as planned and address the UN General Assembly, reaffirming what he described as Israel’s right to defend its citizens.
Danon went further by suggesting that if anyone should face arrest, it should be Mayor Mamdani himself.
The issue is not new. During his 2025 mayoral campaign, Mamdani had pledged that if Netanyahu entered New York while an ICC arrest warrant remained in effect, he would instruct authorities to arrest him.
At the time, he described the Israeli prime minister as a war criminal and accused him of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly rejected allegations of genocide and maintains that its military operations are directed against Hamas following the October 7 attacks.
According to The New York Times, Netanyahu dismissed Mamdani’s earlier pledge and said he was not concerned by the mayor’s position.
During a radio interview with broadcaster Sid Rosenberg, Netanyahu accused Mamdani of sympathising with Hamas and questioned his political judgment.
Mamdani has previously rejected such accusations. Earlier this year, he publicly condemned pro-Hamas slogans and described Hamas as a terrorist organisation while maintaining strong criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
In the interview, Mamdani again described Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide and criticised continued American military assistance to Israel.
He argued that many New Yorkers struggle to understand why billions of dollars continue to be allocated to overseas military operations while pressing domestic issues receive less attention.
“There is no respite from a genocide,” Mamdani said while referring to reports from Gaza. He also cited the death of aid worker Mohammed al-Wahidi, who had reportedly been helping organise public screenings of FIFA World Cup matches before being killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Mamdani further criticised successive US administrations, saying Washington’s overall approach toward Gaza and Palestine had failed regardless of which political party was in power.
Despite his strong criticism of Israeli government policies, the mayor stressed that political differences over the Middle East should not determine employment decisions within his administration.
He said his coalition includes individuals with diverse opinions and emphasised the importance of working with people even when disagreements exist on international issues.
“I don’t ask every person applying for a job what they think about Israel and Palestine,” he said, adding that such views are unrelated to most municipal positions.
The controversy comes amid growing divisions within American politics over US policy toward Israel.
Progressive Democrats have increasingly called for ending or sharply reducing American military assistance to Israel, while more moderate members of the Democratic Party continue to support security assistance, particularly for defensive purposes.
Earlier this week, nearly half of Democratic members in the US House of Representatives supported an amendment seeking to halt aid to Israel. The proposal received backing from 103 Democrats and one Republican but failed to secure enough votes for passage.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, also faces a domestic corruption trial and is preparing for parliamentary elections scheduled for October 27. His leadership during Israel’s ongoing military operations has drawn both strong domestic support and widespread international criticism.
The debate surrounding Mamdani’s comments has intensified international attention on the legal and political implications of the ICC warrant, while also highlighting the growing divide within US politics over the conflict in Gaza and Washington’s continued support for Israel.
