New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has revealed he is actively consulting with the city's law department to determine whether his administration possesses the legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The potential move concerns Netanyahu's anticipated visit to New York in September to address the United Nations General Assembly.
Mamdani, who first expressed these intentions during his mayoral campaign last year, reiterated his stance during an appearance on the New York Times’s The Interview podcast. He explicitly referred to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in November 2024, which accused the Israeli leader of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, including starvation as a method of warfare, murder, and persecution. "He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the international criminal court," Mamdani stated, adding that he intends to follow the laws of New York City rather than authoring new ones to facilitate an arrest.
While Mamdani acknowledged that the specific legal scope of his power to order the NYPD to detain a foreign leader remains unclear, he emphasized that he is engaging in active conversations with legal experts to clarify his options. During his campaign, Mamdani had characterized Israel's military actions in Gaza as genocide while simultaneously condemning the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel as a "horrific war crime."
The proposal has faced significant pushback from both Israeli and American officials. Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, criticized Mamdani for allegedly failing to address rising antisemitism in New York, while confirming that Netanyahu will visit the city to speak at the UN with pride. Similarly, Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, dismissed the mayor's rhetoric as "pure political theater," noting that the United States is not a party to the ICC and does not recognize its jurisdiction. Netanyahu himself, speaking on WABC, dismissed the threat, accusing Mamdani of supporting "terror actors" and being against both Israel and America.
Legal experts previously suggested that such an arrest would be a practical impossibility and could trigger a direct conflict with the US federal government. The US government has maintained a firm stance against the ICC, with President Donald Trump implementing economic sanctions against the court in February 2025. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has further vowed to dismantle the institution, labeling its actions a "war" against the United States.
Mamdani maintains that his position is not a personal assessment but a reflection of the weight carried by the ICC's international warrant. His comments arrive as political sentiment within the Democratic Party shows signs of shifting, evidenced by a recent vote where nearly half of House Democrats attempted to block $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel. Mamdani described the current US approach to Gaza and Palestine as a "bankrupt policy," noting that the issue has become a significant motivator for voters across the country.
