Mamdani says NYC is exploring whether it can arrest Netanyahu if Israeli leader visits for UN General Assembly

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration is actively exploring whether the city has the legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York for September's United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

In remarks first reported by The New York Times, Mamdani called Netanyahu a 'war criminal' who 'belongs in the Hague' and said his administration is in an 'active conversation' with the city's Law Department over what legal authority New York City possesses should the Israeli prime minister travel to the Big Apple.

'Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that's what we will do,' Mamdani said, adding his administration would not write new laws for that purpose.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz slammed Mamdani's remarks as 'pure political theater,' arguing that the mayor has no legal authority to arrest Netanyahu, citing that the U.S. is not party to the ICC's founding treaty, the U.N. Headquarters Agreement protects visiting heads of government, head-of-government immunity applies, and 'federal authority trumps any local mayor's wishes.'