New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani renewed his criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, describing him as a “war criminal" while acknowledging that, despite statements made during his mayoral campaign, he does not have the authority to arrest the Israeli leader.
“When it comes to Benjamin Netanyahu, I have described him as I believe him to be a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people," Mamdani told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, alleging war crimes committed by Israel during its counterterrorism efforts against Hamas in Gaza.
Mamdani had pledged during his campaign that he would instruct the New York Police Department to arrest Netanyahu if the Prime Minister entered the city. In a July interview with The New York Times, he said he was exploring potential means of detaining Netanyahu. However, he later conceded in a video that the mayor of New York City lacks the legal authority to enforce an ICC arrest warrant and instead urged the federal government to act.
In the interview with Amanpour, Mamdani said, “I do believe that that is something that should be honored, because what we want to see, and we’ve been talking about this today, is a faith in our politics, a faith in accountability."
With New York preparing for this week's United Nations General Assembly, Mamdani also said he met with The Hague Mayor Jan van Zanen. According to Mamdani, their discussion focused on the importance of the rule of law.
“If the International Criminal Court deems someone worthy of an arrest because of a violation of those laws, then who are we to say that anyone should be above that? And I think very clearly that everyone should be held accountable to it," Mamdani said.
Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver an address to the UN on Thursday. Multiple demonstrations have been announced ahead of his appearance, but Mamdani has said he will not take part in the protests despite previously encouraging New Yorkers to take part in such protests.