Can Mayor Mamdani arrest Netanyahu in New York on January 1?

13-Nov-2025

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New York City's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is again in the spotlight over his campaign promise—to order the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he visit the city. 

The promise, made during Mamdani's mayoral campaign, has been the talking point with Netanyahu officially invited to New York City on January 1. That's the day Mamdani takes office as the mayor of New York City (NYC).

Mamdani, a democratic socialist and longtime pro-Palestinian activist, had declared in several interviews that he would "honour the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant" against Netanyahu, who faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for Israel's actions in Gaza.

The ICC's warrant, issued on November 21, 2024, accuses Netanyahu 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."