Zohran Mamdani says Israel should disarm if Hamas lays down their weapons

Mamdani has been asked about it twice in as many days and gave differing answers both times. During Thursday night’s mayoral debate his remarks were sharp contrast to comments he made just one day earlier on Fox News.

“Of course, I believe that they should lay down their arms,” Mamdani said during the debate at against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. A moderator pressed him to respond to remarks he'd made during the previous day's interview with Martha MacCallum.

MacCallum had noted during his Fox News interview his refusal to directly answer whether Hamas should disarm and step aside from Gaza leadership under the new ceasefire agreement.

“I don’t really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety. Anything has to abide by international law, and that applies to Hamas, that applies to the Israeli military, applies to anyone you could ask me about.” Mamdani had said in that interview.

Mamdani has been in attendance at the pro-Palestinian protests and demonstrations that have taken place since Hamas massacred 1,200 people in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Mamdani was more definitive on the debate stage than he had been with MacCallum. “I’m proud to be one of the first elected officials in the state who called for a ceasefire, and calling for a ceasefire means ceasing fire,” he said. “That means all parties have to cease fire and put down their weapons. And the reason that we call for that is not only for the end of the genocide, but also and unimpeded access to humanitarian aid. I, like many New Yorkers, am hopeful that this ceasefire will hold.”

Mamdani added that he hopes President Trump’s brokered ceasefire is “durable” and “just,” though social media users were quick to label his comments as a “new answer” compared to his Fox News appearance, where he declined to credit Trump for the peace deal.

Mamdani’s remarks drew immediate fire from his rivals. Republican Curtis Sliwa, the only candidate to explicitly praise Trump’s role in the ceasefire and hostage releases, accused Mamdani and Cuomo of political cowardice. “The president of the United States should have been applauded by you, Zohran Mamdani, and you, Andrew Cuomo,” Sliwa said.

Former Gov. Cuomo, running as an independent, launched some of the fiercest attacks of the night. “The Assemblyman will not denounce Hamas,” Cuomo charged. “The Assemblyman will not denounce Hasan Piker, who said America deserved 9/11. The Assemblyman just said in his response, ‘Well, it depends on occupation.’ That is cold — meaning Israel does not have a right to exist as a Jewish state, which he has never acknowledged. That’s why he won’t denounce ‘globalize the intifada,’ which means to kill all Jews.”

Cuomo continued, accusing Mamdani of aligning himself with anti-Israel rhetoric while ignoring the suffering of hostages and victims. “He signed up to be Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal defense team during the course of this genocide,” Mamdani shot back, accusing Cuomo of hypocrisy and indifference toward Palestinian civilians.

The exchange marked the latest flashpoint in a campaign dominated by Mamdani’s controversial record on Israel and Gaza. The socialist assemblyman from Queens — and current front-runner in the race, has faced intense scrutiny for his refusal to condemn Hamas outright and his hesitation to disavow the slogan “globalize the intifada.”

During Thursday’s debate, Mamdani acknowledged that the phrase has caused pain for Jewish New Yorkers and said he “discourages its use,” while again calling for an end to “occupation and apartheid.” Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 at which point Hamas staged a bloody civil war against rival Palestinian leadership groups. Following Israel's withdrawal during the ceasefire, Hamas again began executing their rivals in the streets.

During his Fox News interview, Mamdani told Fox News that the city should honor an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the Israeli leader were to visit the city.

“I’ve said that this is a city that believes in international law, and this is a city that wants to uplift and uphold those beliefs,” Mamdani said.

MacCallum pressed him, noting that the United States does not recognize the ICC or its jurisdiction. Mamdani responded, “The Criminal Court, however, has issued a warrant for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu, as it has for Vladimir Putin. I’ve said that I believe that we should uphold arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court and that we would do so only in abiding with all of the laws in front of us.”

MacCallum also challenged him on whether NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch would comply with an order to arrest the Israeli prime minister. Mamdani twice refused to answer directly, saying only, “I can tell you that I’m going to exhaust every legal option in front of me, not to make new laws to do so.”

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, a move the US government has rejected as illegitimate.

Mamdani, 33, has positioned himself as a far-left alternative in the highly anticipated mayoral race, advocating for policies such as city-owned grocery stores, rent control, and higher taxes on the wealthy.

The Democratic candidate has been embroiled in several controversies over his views, which political rivals perceive to be anti-American. The New York Post recently revealed that Mamdani, while in college, was a member of Students for Justice in Palestine. The group has recently come under fire for calling for the killing of Zionist “collaborators.”

The debate’s sharp exchanges underscored deep divisions within the Democratic Party over Israel, Gaza, and US policy in the Middle East, issues that have loomed large since the outbreak of the 2023 Hamas attack and subsequent war. The candidates are set to meet again on Oct. 22 for the final debate before election day.