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‘Something I intend to fulfil’: Zohran Mamdani reiterates he would get Netanyahu arrested in New York city if elected
Zohran Mamdani said that the democrats on local and state levels need to show that they would take action when the federal leadership would not.
New York city mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who won the democratic nomination earlier this year, has reiterated that if elected, he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he sets foot in the city.
Mamdani called Netanyahu a war criminal in an interview with the New York Times and said that he is committing a genocide in the Gaza strip.
Mamdani said that if Netanyahu comes to New York City, he would, as Mayor, honour the warrant issued against the Israeli PM by the International Criminal Court and would have him arrested at the airport.
This is not the first time Mamdani has said this. During his run to become the democrat nominee for NYC mayoral polls, he had indicated that he would try to honour the warrant and arrest Netanyahu. Now he says he plans to “fulfill” this.
“This is something that I intend to fulfill,” the report quoted Mamdani as saying.
He also said that the democrats on local and state levels need to show that they would take action when the federal leadership would not. “This is a moment where we cannot look to the federal government for leadership…This is a moment when cities and states will have to demonstrate what it actually looks like to stand up for our own values, our own people,” Mamdani said.
However, such an arrest would be against the United States’ federal law, the report said. The United States does not recognise the authority of the International Criminal Court and is not a party to it. When the ICC issued the warrant against Netanyahu, Trump came in his support and said the court had “no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel.”
Mamdani also said that he would get Russian President Vladimir Putin arrested too if he comes to the city. The ICC had issued a warrant against Putin in 2023.
“It is my desire to ensure that this be a city that stands up for international law,” Mamdani said.
