Mamdani claims NYC is a ‘city of international law’ when asked about arresting world leaders targeted by ICC

The reporter asked, "you said you would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu based on the 2024 international court arrest warrant. Next UN General Assembly, as mayor, would you do that?"

Mamdani replied, "so I’ve said time and time again that I believe this is a city of international law. And being a city of international law means looking to uphold international law. And that means upholding the warrants from the International Criminal Court (ICC), whether they’re for Benjamin Netanyahu or Vladimir Putin. I think that that’s critically important to showcase our values."

"And, unlike Donald Trump, I’m someone who looks to exist within the confines of the laws that we have. So I will look to exhaust every legal possibility, not to create my own laws."

The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Netanyahu in November of 2024, alleging that the Israeli Prime Minister is "esponsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024."

The warrant came amid the Israel-Hamas war, which began when terrorists with the Palestinian terror group Hamas launched an invasion into Israel in 2023, killing 1,200 and taking hundreds more hostage. A ceasefire was reached in the conflict in the fall of 2025.

An arrest warrant was also issued for Putin, accusing the Russian leader of being "responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation."

In September, Mamdani said that he would order the NYPD to arrest Netanyahu, telling the New York Times at the time that the Israeli leader was a war criminal. "This is something that I intend to fulfill," he said.