New York City Mayor Reviews Legal Basis for Arresting Benjamin Netanyahu

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has openly stated that his administration is seriously examining the legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York for the UN General Assembly in September. Mamdani made the remarks during a recent interview on The New York Times podcast ‘The Interview’ with journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro, where he voiced support for global legal measures regarding the Middle East crisis. ‘I believe that the head of the Israeli Authority, Benjamin Netanyahu, belongs in The Hague,’ Mamdani stated bluntly, adding that he is a war criminal indicted by the International Criminal Court. To realise this plan, Mamdani revealed he is actively discussing the matter with the New York City Law Department to dissect specific constitutional regulations and jurisdictional boundaries. The review focuses on whether a mayor has the constitutional authority to order the New York Police Department (NYPD) to detain a foreign leader who possesses diplomatic status. He stressed that legal parameters remain paramount, asserting, ‘Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we are not going to legislate for that purpose.’ This law enforcement plan is not surprising, as Mamdani had committed during his mayoral campaign to enforcing any ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu should the prime minister visit his jurisdiction. A sharp response came from Israel, with Netanyahu dismissing the possibility of arrest in a separate radio interview and accusing Mamdani of sympathising with Hamas. Netanyahu argued the mayor should examine whom he condemns and whom he praises, claiming Mamdani condemns Israel, the only democratic state entity standing shoulder-to-shoulder with American values. Responding to the accusation, Mamdani’s camp affirmed his balanced yet firm political stance on humanitarian issues, noting he has repeatedly condemned Israel’s intensive military campaign in the Gaza Strip while simultaneously denouncing the Hamas attacks on Israeli citizens on 7 October 2023. Mamdani also sharply criticised his own country’s foreign policy approach to the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, stating it is difficult to find a worse policy approach than what has been done regarding Gaza and Palestine.