Mamdani wants to arrest Netanyahu if he visits NYC for UN assembly: ‘He’s a war criminal’
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he’s still considering
directing the New York Police Department (NYPD) to arrest Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit for the United Nations (UN)
General Assembly.
In a Saturday interview on an episode of The New York Times’
podcast, “The Interview,” Mamdani, the Big Apple’s first mayor to have
been sworn in on the Quran, said that Netanyahu belongs to the Hague,
the headquarters for the International Criminal Court (ICC).
During Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, he pledged to order the NYPD to
arrest the Israeli leader pursuant to the ICC’s warrant against him. In
an October interview with Fox News
host Martha MacCallum, the interviewer noted that the U.S. did not sign
the ICC’s treaty and would not, therefore, recognize the warrant.
Asked about his plans several months later, Mamdani maintained that
the ICC’s view of Netanyahu would be upheld if he sets foot in New York
City.
“He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International
Criminal Court,” said Mamdani. “And what you will find is that is an
opinion that is held by many purely because of what his actions have
wrought over these last many years.”
🚨 Mayor Mamdani Says He is Considering Arresting Bibi Netanyahu If He Visits NYC
“I
believe that PM Netanyahu belongs in the Hague. He's a war criminal …
There is an active conversation with our legal department in seeing what
the prospects are we have here in our… pic.twitter.com/L9GI8hJLFp
He assured interviewer Lulu Garcia-Navarro, as he had with MacCallum
in October, that any legal actions taken against the prime minister
would comply with existing New York City laws.
“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we
will do. But we won’t be writing our own laws to that end,” he
explained.
When asked to clarify what he is allowed to do to Netanyahu under the
law, he responded, “That’s an active conversation with our legal
department in seeing what the prospects are [that] we have here in our
municipality.”
Garcia-Navarro contended that world leaders are generally granted
amnesty when attending the UN General Assembly, asking if Mamdani would
honor that principle.
“I think we are looking at all of our legal obligations and one of
them is with regards to the United Nations, but the other part of this
is we’re not talking about a personal assessment of Benjamin Netanyahu.
We’re talking about the International Criminal Court and the fact that
they have a warrant out for this prime minister’s arrest. And I think
it’s important to talk about the weight that that has as a charge,”
Mamdani said.
“As the mayor of New York City, I’ll be following the laws of New York City,” he added with a smile.
Netanyahu, who is planning to speak at the UN event in September,
addressed Mamdani’s comments on a radio show appearance this week.
“I think he should look at who he’s condemning, who he’s praising,”
Netanyahu said. “He’s condemning Israel, the one democracy that stands
shoulder to shoulder with American values.”
Asked if he was nervous about being arrested, Netanyahu said, “No, I’m not.”
Netanyahu, appearing on Sid Rosenberg’s radio show, claims Mamdani “champions” Hamas and “apologizes and accuses for Iran,
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