New York City mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa held a debate at Rockefeller Center on Thursday evening.
During the debate, Mamdani was asked what he thinks of Hamas and whether he believes the terrorist organization should disarm.
"Of course I believe they should lay down their arms... a ceasefire means ceasing fire," Mamdani replied.
He then said that this action is important for the end of the "genocide" in Gaza and the release of more humanitarian aid into the territory.
Cuomo interjected and accused Mamdani of refusing to denounce Hamas.
"The assemblyman just said in his response, 'Well, it depends on occupation,'" Cuomo said.
"That is cold, meaning that Israel does not have a right to exist as a Jewish state, which he has never acknowledged. That is, from the river to the sea. That's why he won't denounce globalize the intifada, which means to kill all Jews," added the former New York Governor.
Mamdani accused Cuomo of volunteering to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal defense team in international court “during the course of this genocide.”
Mamdani’s response came just one day after he avoided, during an interview with Martha MacCallum on Fox News, a similar question on whether Hamas should lay down its weapons and leave Gaza.
“I believe that any future here in New York City is one that we have to make sure that's affordable for all, and as it pertains to Israel and Palestine, that we have to ensure that there is peace. And that is the future that we have to fight for,” replied Mamdani.
Pressed on whether he believes Hamas should lay down its weapons and leave the leadership in Gaza, he said, “I don't really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety and the fact that anything has to abide by international law. And that applies to Hamas, that applies to the Israeli military, applies to anyone you could ask me about.”
In the same interview, Mamdani reiterated his vow to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if Netanyahu enters New York City and stated that he would "exhaust every legal option" to put Israel's leader in handcuffs.
"I’ve said that this is a city that believes [in] international law, and this is a city that wants to uplift and uphold those beliefs," he said.
When pressed on the fact that the US is not party to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, Mamdani replied, "The Criminal Court, however, has issued a warrant for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu, as it has for Vladimir Putin. I've said that I believe that we should uphold arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court and that we would… do so only in abiding with all of the laws in front of us."
Mamdani has faced heavy criticism due to his anti-Israel stance, which included his failure to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada" and his criticism of Israel on October 8, 2023 - just one day after the Hamas massacre in southern Israel.
He also recently declared that he would stop using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s working definition of antisemitism.
In addition, Mamdani has repeatedly accused Israel of war crimes in its battle against Hamas in Gaza.