Benjamin Netanyahu; Zohran Mamdani

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has reiterated his call for the city to “honour” the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza.The Indian-origin politician has previously stated that, if elected mayor, he would “arrest” Netanyahu should the Israeli leader visit the city.“I’ve said that this is a city that believes international law, and this is a city that wants to uplift and uphold those beliefs,” Mamdani told Fox News’ “The Story” show on Wednesday.Anchor Martha MacCallum noted that the US is not a signatory to the ICC, which Mamdani acknowledged. He stressed, however, that “The ICC… has issued a warrant for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu, as it has for Vladimir Putin (over alleged war crimes in Ukraine). 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.”Also Read | ‘Silly’ threat: Netanyahu dismisses Mamdani’s warnings to arrest Netanyahu on entering New YorkThe Democratic candidate clarified that he would not create new legislation to arrest Netanyahu. “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,” he added, responding to a question about whether the NYPD would allow him to arrest the Israeli leader.During his recent US visit, Netanyahu avoided flying over countries that are ICC signatories and could have arrested him in their airspace.Mamdani, 33, who would become New York’s first Muslim mayor if elected and is a vocal critic of Donald Trump, also declined to credit the US president for last week’s ceasefire and hostage-prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas. “To any extent, credit or not, I think it’s too early to say. But if it proves to be lasting and durable, then that’s where you give credit,” he said.He also avoided commenting directly on whether Hamas would “lay down their arms” in Gaza, emphasizing that his focus is on justice, safety, and adherence to international law. “Anything has to abide by international law, and that applies to Hamas, the Israeli military, anyone you could ask me about,” Mamdani remarked.The mayoral election in New York is scheduled for November 4. Mamdani faces Republican Curtis Silwa and former New York state governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent.