Strong Statement by New York Mayor: We Are Considering Netanyahu’s Arrest if He Attends Assembly

The administration of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is considering an order to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits the city for the UN General Assembly in September. Mamdani told The New York Times, noting that it is still unclear whether he has the legal authority to order the New York Police Department, which falls under his jurisdiction, to detain a foreign leader such as Netanyahu.

“I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu should be tried in The Hague. He is a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.

Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that is what we will do, but we will not write our own laws for that purpose,” Mamdani said, referring to the headquarters of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

During his mayoral campaign last year, Mamdani said in an interview that he would order the Police Department to arrest Netanyahu, who is deadlocked in his re-election race in Israel.

Netanyahu responded to the threat to arrest him by saying he was not concerned and accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls a significant part of Gaza.