New York (AFP) – New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is in talks over whether to try to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an upcoming UN summit, he said in an interview published Saturday – prompting a sharp rebuke from Netanyahu’s camp.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani told The New York Times. “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.”
The leftist Mamdani, who has called Israel an “apartheid regime,” added: “That is an opinion that is held by many, purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”
Mamdani admitted he was not sure if he has the power to order the New York Police Department to detain a foreign leader but is discussing the matter with the city’s legal team.
“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do,” he said.
The UN General Assembly, a major gathering of world leaders, takes place in September at UN headquarters in New York.
Mamdani in the past has vowed to send the NYPD to enforce arrest warrants against leaders wanted by the International Criminal Court, including Netanyahu or Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Hague-based ICC said in 2024 that it had reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu was responsible for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the unprecedented […] attack by Hamas.
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, quickly called out Mamdani.
“Instead of focusing on his responsibilities as mayor and confronting the rising wave of antisemitism in his city, he has chosen to incite hostility and generate headlines by attacking the State of Israel,” Danon wrote on X.
“It will not change a thing. Israeli Prime Minister @netanyahu will come to New York, address the United Nations General Assembly with pride, and stand before the world to state Israel’s truth and its unwavering right to defend its citizens,” he said.
“And if anyone should be arrested, it is @NYCMayor Zohran Mamdani.”
Netanyahu has accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas, saying on a recent New York radio show: “I think, secretly, he hates America.”
There’s no reason why the leader of an UN member state would be extradited, barring extreme circumstances like the UN Security Council voting to refer the individual to the ICC in narrow cases, like genocide. So, while I don’t think Netanyahu could be extradited, comparing him to Fidel Castro is dumb bait.
Also, diplomatic immunity doesn’t work like that. It’s not like one can become prime minister of a UN member state and then be free to commit crimes anywhere they go.
The way it does work is the world leader gets it from the US State department before the leader enters the US. Do you have any reason to think Trump’s state department will either not issue this, and Netanyahu say “whatever I’m coming anyway” or revoke it after he arrived?
Are you really thinking that it’s a fucking mayor that decides if someone gets diplomatic immunity?
I mention Castro because even when the US Federal government (who actually has jurisdiction, not a municipal government LOL) would really love to arrest a world leader while they’re visiting the UN, they still don’t do that. And I don’t think the US federal government wants to arrest Netanyhu.
Iran has UN diplomats in the US, why do you think they haven’t been arrested? Because only barbarians take people hostage when they come to meet for diplomatic reasons. Not even Trump is as barbaric as that.
I’ve never said that the mayor could do any of that. But again, diplomatic immunity doesn’t work like that. And the reason why the US honors it in NY is because there is an UN framework that guarantees it. They would be creating a crisis inside the UN itself if they didn’t. Not that Trump would care, but essentially withdrawing from the UN and leaving a handful of countries with veto powers run the world wouldn’t exactly be a genius move.
What the US could do is deny visas, which they have in the past, e.g. for Iranian diplomats. Also, they wouldn’t have detained Fidel Castro because he wasn’t indicted of anything by US authorities, and not liking the guy isn’t enough.
They could have come up with something on Fidel, like they have for his brother and for Maduro.
The UN is not a sovereign government, they do not control the laws of any government. They could bar Netanyahu from entering the UN buildings, but they have zero say over him entering the US and whether he’ll have diplomatic immunity while in the US. That decision is solely for the State Department, not the UN and definitely not the Mayor of NY.
Yes, the US federal government can do that. Not a a municipal official.
It was good enough to arrest Maduro, and it was good enough to indict Fidel’s brother Raul.
In the past you didn’t go after the sitting leaders of governments (though I believe Raul Castro is retired now, he was indicted when still in power) since it harms the ability to do diplomacy. Both the UN and US have recently decided to prioritize politics over diplomacy so are putting out warrants on world leaders they don’t like. The difference is, the UN doesn’t actually have the capability to arrest the people it puts warrants on while the US does.
Sorry to break it to you, the US isn’t going to arrest Netanyahu. But the US may arrest some other world leaders they don’t like, because apparently that’s OK to do now.
So your entire point is that everyone might ignore international treaties and UN frameworks and randomly “make shit up”? OK then?
But then again, I never said that the mayor could do any of that either. You seem to be arguing against yourself.
Do you think the UN is the government of the world? It’s not. Nations are sovereign, the UN is a forum for diplomacy between nations.