Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for the mayor of New York, said that if he was elected, he would order the New York police service to arrest the Prime Minister of Israel if he arrives in the city, presenting new details of a campaign commitment.
In an interview The New York Times Mamdani described Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday as a war criminal responsible for the genocide in Gaza. He said that Netanyahu visited New York, he “honored” the mandate of the International Criminal Court (CIM) for his arrest by ordering the police to apprehend him to the airport.
Legal experts have warned that such a decision would be practically impossible and could violate federal law. However, Mamdani has doubled, saying that he would not withdraw from the commitment. “This is something that I intend to achieve,” he said. “It is my desire to make sure that it is a city that defends international law.”
The United States is not part of the ICC and does not recognize its authority. President Donald Trump imposed measures against the court in February after issuing Netanyahu’s mandate, arguing that he had “no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel”.
Netanyahu, for her part, rejected threats. Speaking in July, he said he was not worried about Mamdani’s comments. In a White House meeting with Trump, he called the idea of an “silly arrest in many ways”, adding: “I’m going to come with President Trump and we will see.”
“It would be better to behave. Otherwise, he will have big problems,” added Trump, referring to Mamdani.
The mandate of the ICC accuses Netanyahu of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, alleging that he and another senior Israeli official “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects essential to their survival, including food, water and drugs”.
Mamdani argued that Netanyahu even made military decisions in New York who led to civil death in the Middle East.
A recent investigation by the University of New York Times and Siena revealed that New Yorkers have largely supported Mamdani’s position on Israel and war. Among the probable Jewish voters, Mamdani maintained a close advance at around 30%, followed closely by the current mayor Eric Adams and former governor Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo, the main rival of Mamdani, positioned himself as a fervent supporter of Israel and last November volunteered to join the legal defense team of Netanyahu, shortly after the ICC issued its mandate.
Trump said on Friday that the mayor of New York, Adams, continuing his candidacy for the re -election, reduced the chance that whoever beats the Democratic candidate Mamdani, but added that Adams is “free to do what he wants”.
“It seems to me that if he (Adams) remains, if you have more than one candidate for him (Mamdani), he cannot be won,” Trump told the journalists in the oval office, shortly after Adams said he was not ending his campaign for re -election.
“I would say that (Andrew) Cuomo could have a chance to win if it was one to one. If it is not head-to-head, it will be a difficult race,” added Trump.
