New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he is talking with the city's law department about whether he has the power to order the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The arrest would happen if Netanyahu visits New York for the United Nations General Assembly — a yearly gathering of world leaders — in September 2026. Mamdani made these remarks in an interview with The New York Times show "The Interview," published July 18, 2026, titled "Zohran Mamdani: 'Netanyahu Belongs in the Hague'" (The New York Times).

"I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in the Hague," Mamdani said. The Hague is a city in the Netherlands where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is based. The ICC is a global court that tries individuals for the most serious crimes, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mamdani called Netanyahu "a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court." The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over possible crimes against humanity in Gaza (Al Jazeera).

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, promised during his mayoral campaign to arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli leader came to New York City. But in the NYT interview, he struck a more careful tone about the limits of his office. "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 said (Al Jazeera).

The legal situation is complicated. The United States never joined the treaty that created the ICC, so the US is not required to carry out ICC arrest warrants. New York City's law department follows US federal and state law, meaning a city mayor's power to arrest a visiting foreign leader would face major legal hurdles. Think of it like a local police officer trying to enforce a rule set by an organization the local government never agreed to join. Mamdani's comment that he will not "write our own laws" shows he understands any arrest would need to be based on laws that already exist — not just on a mayor's orders.

Netanyahu has shown defiance. In December 2025, speaking at The New York Times DealBook Summit, he said he was not worried about legal challenges and would visit New York City despite Mamdani's arrest threat (The New York Times). Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, insisted that Netanyahu will attend the September 2026 General Assembly meeting regardless of the arrest threats (Al Jazeera).

Netanyahu also responded personally to Mamdani's arrest call, telling radio personality Sid Rosenberg that he believes Mamdani secretly "hates America." During the mayoral campaign, Rosenberg had referred to Mamdani as a "cockroach" and later apologized (Al Jazeera).

The exchange between a sitting US mayor and an allied head of state is unusual on its own. But it is happening against a broader shift in the Democratic Party's stance on Israel. A May 2026 poll found that nearly three-quarters of Democratic voters oppose US aid to Israel, up from 45 percent three years earlier. Earlier in the week of July 18, 2026, nearly half of Democratic members of the US House of Representatives voted to end US aid to Israel (Al Jazeera).

The broader context here matters for understanding the Mamdani-Netanyahu dynamic. Mamdani's arrest pledge lines up with a real shift among Democratic voters on Israel policy, especially regarding the Gaza war and the ICC's involvement. Whether a New York City mayor could actually carry out such an arrest is a separate question from the political signal the pledge sends. Mamdani's careful wording in the NYT interview suggests he is balancing what he promised on the campaign trail with what is realistic once in office.

The September General Assembly will test whether the legal consultation Mamdani started produces any real action, or whether the matter stays at the level of political posture. Either way, the episode places New York City's mayor at an unusual crossing point of international criminal law, the US government's refusal to cooperate with the ICC, and domestic political pressure on Israel policy that shows no sign of fading.