VIDEO: Why Netanyahu should be arrested in US — New York City mayor

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has explained why he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested if he visits the United States, insisting that the International Criminal Court (ICC) was justified in issuing a warrant for his arrest over alleged war crimes.

In a video statement on Wednesday, Mamdani accused Netanyahu of committing grave crimes against Palestinians during the Gaza war, alleging that he was responsible for the deaths of more than 73,000 people, the injury of tens of thousands of children and attacks on hospitals, maternity centres, aid workers and journalists.

The mayor also cited reports that humanitarian assistance had been blocked from reaching civilians in Gaza, leading to widespread starvation, while referring to a recent United Nations report alleging that Palestinian children continued to be deliberately targeted by Israeli forces months after the ceasefire.

According to Mamdani, the scale of the alleged atrocities justified the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, arguing that crimes of such magnitude offend the conscience of humanity and should be prosecuted before an international court.

He said his administration had examined every legal option available to determine whether New York City could enforce the ICC warrant if Netanyahu visited the city, but concluded that it lacked the legal authority to do so.

Mamdani, however, maintained that the federal government has the authority to act and urged it to enforce the ICC warrant.

He also declared that Netanyahu was not welcome in New York, adding that although the city could not end the war on its own, it could choose not to remain silent and should use every lawful means available to defend human dignity.

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He said, “Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people. He is responsible for the killing of more than 73,000 people, for the maiming of tens of thousands of children, as those who survive undergo amputation without anaesthesia.

“For the targeting of neonatal hospitals and maternity care centres, denying newborns even the chance to live. For the countless people he starved as he blocked food and humanitarian aid from reaching them. For the gunning down of hundreds of aid workers and journalists.

“And just last month, the UN confirmed that Palestinian children continue to be deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli armed forces, more than eight months after the so-called ceasefire. The list goes on and on. All as we, as Americans, pay for the bombs that do the killing.

“There is a reason the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest. As human beings, we have spent generations building a shared understanding that there are crimes so grave they offend all of humanity. Anyone, with their eyes, with their heart, with their conscience, should recognise the devastation he has wrought and understand that he belongs before a court of law.

“As I’ve said, I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes, as I do for anyone else charged by the ICC. My administration has reviewed every avenue available, under applicable law, to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here. It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant.

“The federal government, however, does. And I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant. And I want to be equally clear. Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York.

“While we cannot end the genocide on our own, we can decide whether our silence will become another weapon, and we can examine every tool we have to defend the humanity and dignity of all people. That is my commitment to you.”

The remarks came days after United States President Donald Trump declared that Netanyahu would not face arrest during any visit to the United States following comments by Mamdani suggesting the city was assessing its legal options.

“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while ​in the United States of America,” Trump wrote in a social media post that did not refer directly to Mamdani’s comments.

The ICC, based in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 over alleged war crimes committed during the Gaza conflict. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denied the allegations.

Mamdani had earlier said in an interview aired on Saturday that New York City’s legal department was reviewing whether any legal options existed regarding the ICC warrant.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He’s ​a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court,” Mamdani told a New York Times video podcast called “The Interview.”

Netanyahu is expected to travel to New York in September for the annual United Nations General Assembly.

Israel responded to Mamdani’s remarks by describing the ICC as a “kangaroo court” in a post on X and dismissing the arrest warrant against Netanyahu as “bogus.”

“Mamdani appears interested in ​diverting public attention from ⁠his follies and attacking the leader of the Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East,” it said.

The ICC, established in 2002, has jurisdiction over cases involving genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. However, neither the United States nor Israel is a member of the court.

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