Zohran Mamdani says as mayor he would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he traveled to New York

‘It is my desire to ensure that this be a city that stands up for international law,’ Mamdani said in the Times interview. Photograph: Shutterstock

If he wins his fall election, Zohran Mamdani would order New York’s police department to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu in the event that the Israeli prime minister ever traveled there, the city’s leading mayoral candidate said in a recent interview.

Mamdani – the Democratic nominee in the 4 November election – said to the New York Times on Thursday that Netanyahu was a war criminal who was committing genocide with Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Mamdani said he would honor an international criminal court (ICC) arrest warrant issued in November last year for Netanyahu’s arrest over alleged Gaza war crimes by having the Israeli PM taken into custody at the airport if he ever steps foot in New York.