NYC mayor weighs legal authority to arrest Netanyahu at UN

Legal review of arrest authority

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Saturday that his administration is reviewing whether municipal authorities possess the legal power to detain Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he visit the city for the UN General Assembly in September, according to The New York Times. Speaking on the newspaper's The Interview podcast, Mamdani stated: "I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He's a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court."

Mamdani noted that he was in an active conversation with the New York City Law Department over whether he has the authority to direct the New York Police Department to detain a foreign leader. "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," he said. Mamdani had previously pledged during his mayoral campaign to seek enforcement of the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Netanyahu if the Israeli leader entered the city.

Netanyahu dismisses threat

Netanyahu dismissed the prospect in a recent interview with radio host Sid Rosenberg, accusing Mamdani of supporting Hamas. "I think he should look at who he's condemning, who he's praising," Netanyahu said. "He's condemning Israel, the one democracy that stands shoulder to shoulder with American values."

Gaza policy criticism

Mamdani has repeatedly condemned Israel's military campaign in Gaza while also denouncing Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. In the interview, Mamdani also criticized US policy toward Gaza, saying it is "hard to find a more bankrupt policy approach than what our country has done to Gaza and to Palestine." He expressed support for the possibility of Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez running for president in 2028, defended New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch's leadership, and criticized President Donald Trump's immigration policies while backing cooperation on serious criminal cases.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in late 2024, charging him with war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the conflict in Gaza. The UN General Assembly's high-level session is scheduled to convene in September, drawing world leaders to New York for the annual diplomatic gathering.