Mamdani vows to arrest Netanyahu if elected New York mayor

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
Today 10:43

Zohran Mamdani’s pledge to uphold an ICC warrant against Netanyahu spotlights his push for international law and human rights in New York’s mayoral race.

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New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is on stage at the March on Wall Street on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in New York (AP)

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee in New York’s upcoming mayoral election, said he would direct the city’s police department to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the leader ever set foot in the city.

Speaking to The New York Times this week, Mamdani stressed that Netanyahu was a “war criminal” responsible for genocide in Gaza and pledged to enforce the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant issued in November 2024. “This is something that I intend to fulfill,” he said. “It is my desire to ensure that this be a city that stands up for international law.”

Mamdani, a democratic socialist state assemblyman, is currently leading the mayoral race ahead of the November 4 vote. In New York, the police commissioner serves at the pleasure of the mayor, but legal experts told The Times that such an arrest would be “a practical impossibility” and would almost certainly bring the city into direct conflict with Washington. The United States is not a party to the ICC and does not recognize its jurisdiction.

Wider context

US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the court earlier this year, insisting it has no authority over either the US or "Israel". Netanyahu, asked in July about Mamdani’s stance, dismissed the threat, saying at a meeting alongside Trump that he was “not concerned” and quipped he would travel with the US president to see “if he was arrested.” Trump added at the time that Mamdani “better behave – otherwise, he’s going to have big problems.”

Mamdani’s remarks come amid shifting public sentiment in New York, where polls now show broader sympathy for Palestinians amid the ongoing Israeli genocide.

An Emerson College/PIX11/The Hill poll released Wednesday showed Mamdani leading former governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary, by 15 points. Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and incumbent mayor Eric Adams, also running as an independent, trailed far behind.

Trump advisors are reportedly exploring ways to engineer a two-man contest between Mamdani and Cuomo by dangling potential administration roles for Adams and Sliwa. A Times/Siena University poll suggested Mamdani’s lead over Cuomo would shrink to just four points if the other two candidates dropped out. Both Adams and Sliwa have said they plan to stay in the race.