Claim:
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said he would order the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he came to New York City.
Rating:
Context
Mamdani said he would attempt to honor the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu on charges of war crimes — but multiple federal laws would complicate any attempt to do so.
Amid Zohran Mamdani’s 2025 campaign to lead the largest city in America, a rumor spread online that the mayor-elect pledged to order the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he ever traveled to New York City.
Posts on X, Facebook and Reddit circulated the claim.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist and longtime pro-Palestinian activist, has repeatedly said in taped interviews that he would try to honor the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu on charges of war crimes should the prime minister visit New York City. As such, we have rated this claim true.
It is worth noting, however, that it likely would not be possible to legally arrest Netanyahu on American soil — and Mamdani said he would “operate within the bounds of the law.” As of this writing, the United States is not a signatory to the ICC, meaning the intergovernmental organization has no authority in the country.
During a July meeting between Trump and Netanyahu at the White House, before New Yorkers elected Mamdani as mayor, Netanyahu said he was “not concerned” about Mamdani’s pledge, and that Trump, his “big brother,” would come with the prime minister to New York City.
“I’ll get him out,” Trump said with a smile.
The ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu, issued on Nov. 21, 2024, accused him of “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.”
Snopes previously investigated Netanyahu’s claim that the charges were a “lie.” We have also reported on famine amid Israel’s war in Gaza.
Mamdani: ‘New York City would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu’
Mamdani first promised to arrest Netanyahu in December 2024 during an interview with progressive journalist Medhi Hasan for Zeteo News. Zeteo put the full interview behind a paywall but posted a clip of the relevant exchange:
Here’s the transcript (emphasis ours):
Hasan: A Mayor Mamdani, would he welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu to New York City for the — for whatever he comes for, given that the U.S. is not a signatory to the ICC, so he can travel to the U.S., unlike a lot of other countries — would a Mayor Mamdani welcome Benjamin Netanyahu to the city?
Mamdani: No. As mayor, New York City would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu. This is a city that — our values are in line with international law. It’s time that our actions are also.
Hasan: Even though the U.S. is not a signatory to the ICC.
Mamdani: No. It’s time that we actually step up and make clear what we are willing to do to showcase the leadership that is sorely missing in the federal administration.
In a September interview with The New York Times, Mamdani reportedly said he would order the New York Police Department to arrest Netanyahu, and “that state and local Democrats needed to show that they would take action where the federal government will not.”
According to the Times, Mamdani pointed to Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2004 decision, which the courts overturned, to defy federal law and issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples back when the governor was mayor of San Francisco.
Mamdani again affirmed his promise in an October 2025 interview with Zeteo News, available in full on YouTube (see 29:07). Here’s an excerpt (emphasis ours):
Hasan: Is the plan still to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he comes to New York City with Donald Trump as his human shield?
Mamdani: Look, I think I want to just first give us the context. Oftentimes this is described as if it is a matter of opinion, a personal assessment. We are speaking about someone who is facing a warrant from the International Criminal Court, someone who has perpetrated a genocide of Palestinians for close to two years.
And every hour for that time period, a Palestinian child has been killed by the Israeli military. And this is something that has shocked the conscience of so many — across the city, across this country, across the world.
And I hear about it from New Yorkers everywhere. I hear about it when I take the train. I hear about it when I’m walking on the street. I hear about it when I’m speaking about our affordability agenda. And I hear about it because it is an affront to any kind of universal belief in the sanctity of humanity, of justice, of safety. And I also hear about it because there is a deep shame and anger and a horror at the fact that we as Americans are complicit in this.
You know, I think Graeme Platner put it best when he recently said, ‘Our taxpayer dollars should be building schools and hospitals in this country, not bombs to destroy them in Gaza.’ And there is that deep sense of the contradiction in our politics.
Hasan: So you as mayor of New York want to hold him to account.
Mamdani: And — and — and — and that is the importance of this city, is to showcase a model of what politics could be and to showcase that we are a city that believes in international law.
Can Mamdani even arrest Netanyahu?
As the Times reported after its interview with Mamdani, several federal laws present serious obstacles to an arrest of Netanyahu in New York City.
The ICC has no jurisdiction in the United States, and the federal government does not recognize its authority. Trump’s administration in February placed sanctions on the ICC in reaction to Netanyahu’s arrest warrant.
The White House’s actions, coupled with Trump’s July comments, indicate that the Trump administration would almost certainly move to block or reverse any efforts Mamdani might make to honor the ICC’s arrest warrant. The Constitution gives the federal government primary power over foreign affairs, and U.S. courts have repeatedly upheld the president’s extensive control.
During Mamdani’s interview with Zeteo in October, he appeared to acknowledge that he might not have the authority to arrest Netanyahu (see 32:08):
Mamdani: Now look, to be clear, I’m going to operate within the bounds of the law. I’m not Donald Trump seeking to create my own legal system, as I make my own decisions.
And yet, I think it is also important to say that the time of not only tolerating, but celebrating, Benjamin Netanyahu in this city — from those in leading political positions —
Hasan: Eric Adams.
Mamdani: Including the mayor — the time of looking at Benjamin Netanyahu coming to this city and then making military decisions from this city to kill civilians — that time has to come to an end, because New Yorkers at the very least want to bring an end not only to this genocide, but also to the complicity we have in the violation of international law.
To summarize: There’s no doubt Mamdani has promised to order Netanyahu’s arrest if he steps foot in New York City — but there’s plenty of reasons to doubt that Netanyahu could end up in international criminal court because of Mamdani’s pledge.
