0
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani answers questions from reporters during a press conference held in New York on July 17 (local time). / Courtesy of AP, Yonhap News

CNN reported on July 19 (local time) that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated he could arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly this coming September.

In the New York Times (NYT) podcast "The Interview" released the previous day, Mayor Mamdani stated, "I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu should go to The Hague. He is a war criminal indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC)."

Mayor Mamdani had pledged to arrest Netanyahu since his 2025 New York City mayoral campaign.

At the time, he defined Israel's war in Gaza as "genocide," designated Netanyahu as an ICC war criminal, and claimed he would issue an order to the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to arrest him.

Regarding whether he has the legal authority to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu, Mayor Mamdani said, "This is an issue currently under active discussion with the Law Department," adding, "We are not trying to step outside the bounds of legality at the national level. We have no interest in that."

He added, "Given the fact that the ICC has issued an arrest warrant and how grave those charges are, as mayor, I will uphold the laws of New York City."

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu in 2024 on charges of war crimes committed before and after Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

In response to Mayor Mamdani's remarks, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office criticized him via social media, stating, "Mayor Mamdani seems focused on attacking Israeli leadership to distract the public from his own mistakes and problems."

Danny Danon, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, dismissed the possibility of an arrest on social media, writing, "Prime Minister Netanyahu will come to New York, proudly address the UN General Assembly, and make clear before the world Israel's truth and its firm right to defend its citizens."

Mike Waltz, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, also evaluated Mayor Mamdani's remarks as a "pure political stunt," pointing out that "because the United States is not a member of the ICC, it has no obligation to execute arrest warrants."

Because the United States has not ratified the Rome Statute that established the ICC, it is not an ICC member state and therefore bears no legal responsibility to implement arrest warrants issued by the ICC.

                                                                                                             Park Jin-sook