New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says his administration is examining whether the city has the legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September.
In an interview with The New York Times, Mamdani said Netanyahu, who is the subject of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the conflict in Gaza, should face justice.
“I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu should be in The Hague. He is a war criminal indicted by the International Criminal Court,” Mamdani said.
The pro-Palestinian Democratic Socialist, who pledged during his mayoral campaign to arrest Netanyahu if he visited the city, said he is currently consulting New York City’s legal department to determine the scope of his authority.
“We are prepared to do whatever New York City law allows me to do, but we are not making new laws,” he said.
Responding to the remarks, Netanyahu said he believes Mamdani secretly “hates America.” Meanwhile, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, stated that the Israeli Prime Minister will attend the UN General Assembly in September despite the discussion surrounding a possible arrest.
Mamdani’s election and his outspoken criticism of Netanyahu have been viewed by some political observers as reflecting changing attitudes among sections of the US Democratic Party toward Israel.
A poll conducted in May found that nearly three-quarters of Democratic voters oppose continued US aid to Israel, compared with 45 percent three years earlier.
Analysts also point to a recent vote in the US House of Representatives, where nearly half of Democratic lawmakers supported a proposal to end American aid to Israel, describing it as another indication of shifting political sentiment within the party.
