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1 Nov 2025 17:56
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  •   Home > News > International

    Zohran Mamdani's pledge to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu in NYC 'unenforceable campaign promise'

    Zohran Mamdani, the man many predict will become New York City's next mayor, has made plenty of promises — his one to arrest Israel's PM is causing a particular stir ahead of Tuesday's election.


    Free bus travel, rent freezes, city owned supermarkets and no-cost childcare, to name but a few.

    Zohran Mamdani, the man many predict will become New York City's next mayor, has made plenty of promises.

    The 34-year-old's blueprint for reform has not just gained traction in The Big Apple. If polls are correct, it will catapult him into office.

    This plan to do things differently is sharing the spotlight with another, less local pledge, however.

    If he is elected on Tuesday, local time, Mr Mamdani says he will arrest a frequent visitor to the city: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu in November 2024.

    He is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the course of the Israel-Hamas war.

    Mr Mamdani, who would be ultimately responsible for policing in New York if he were elected mayor, has repeatedly promised to detain the Israeli PM if he gets the chance.

    Mr Netanyahu has made multiple trips to New York City over the course of his career, including in each of the past three years to speak at the United Nations' Manhattan headquarters.

    "I've said time and time again, this is a city that believes in international law," Mr Mamdani told CNN last month.

    "This is a city that deserves its values to be reflected in our commitments, and I think our city should uphold the warrants the International Criminal Court issues."

    But Professor Alex Whiting, from Harvard Law School, said it was not that simple.

    He has previously served as the ICC's coordinator of investigations, among multiple other senior roles there.

    "I always appreciate when political leaders support international criminal justice and the International Criminal Court," Professor Whiting said.

    "Having said that, I think this particular pledge by Mamdani does a real disservice to how the law works and how we should understand and think about the law.

    "There is no way that he's going to be able to order the New York City police to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, and there are several reasons for that."

    Professor Michael Newton, from Vanderbilt University Law School, agreed.

    He helped establish the ICC, has argued three cases there and assisted in many more.

    "It's an unenforceable campaign promise," he said.

    "There's a criminal and a civil reason for that. The civil reason is a US federal law called the American Service Members Protection Act."

    The law essentially restricts US officials from cooperating with the ICC.

    "So, it would be a violation of a federal law for Mamdani to use the NYPD in an official capacity to arrest Netanyahu. Period. Full stop," Professor Newton said.

    The criminal reason is linked to US President Donald Trump's executive order signed earlier this year to sanction some ICC prosecutors and judges involved in Mr Netanyahu's case.

    Professor Newton said if Mr Mamdani ordered police to arrest Mr Netanyahu, it would likely be perceived by the US government as a contravention of the executive order.

    "That would be a very simple statutory question," Professor Newton said.

    "If a US mayor arrested an Israeli official pursuant to a request from ICC, would it be deemed as assisting those individuals the US has sanctioned? It's pretty easy to connect those dots."

    Both Professor Newton and Professor Whiting also pointed out Mr Netanyahu would enjoy diplomatic immunity in the United States as the head of state of a foreign nation.

    The ICC was established in 2002 and 125 states, including Australia, are party to its governing statute.

    In other words, they have agreed to waive this diplomatic immunity for foreign leaders and are obliged to arrest Mr Netanyahu if they have the chance, although some signatories have said they will not do this.

    The United States and Israel, however, are not signatories to the court and do not recognise the ICC's jurisdiction.

    Netanyahu 'may never appear in The Hague'

    Mr Trump, a Republican and New York City native, hails from an opposing part of the political spectrum from Mr Mamdani, who is running for the Democratic Party in the mayoral election.

    The US president has previously scoffed at the prospect of Mr Mamdani arresting Mr Netanyahu.

    "He's going to behave," Mr Trump said of Mr Mamdani in July. "He better behave, otherwise he's going to have big problems."

    The president has also said he would "get him out", if Mr Netanyahu was taken into custody.

    During a visit to the US earlier this year, Mr Netanyahu said he was "not concerned" about the prospect of the arrest.

    "There's enough craziness in the world, but I guess it never ends … this is appalling, and it's silly in many ways because it's just not serious," Israel's PM added.

    Mr Mamdani is attempting to become the first Muslim to move into Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence. He has been a long-time supporter of Palestinian rights and history of criticising Israel and its military.

    Some people have described statements made by Mr Mamdani as being antisemitic — something he denies.

    Professor Newton said even if Mr Netanyahu was arrested in New York City, it would not be the end of the legal headaches in the case.

    "You've still got to get him to The Hague," Professor Newton said, of the Netherlands city where the ICC is headquartered.

    "The prosecutors would not be admitted to the US for the purpose of picking him up. You couldn't use public money to fly him there.

    "Even if you could get around state and sovereign immunity and someone used their private money to get a plane or a ticket to take him away, he's still got to go through customs and immigration. It's impossible."

    Professor Whiting said that while the ICC seldom issued arrest warrants it did not expect to be fulfilled one day, high-profile individuals such as Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian president Vladimir Putin — who is also wanted by the court — were "different".

    "They are obviously from very powerful countries, and my concern is that, in fact, they will never appear in The Hague," he said.

    "These arrest warrants could linger, be unfulfilled, and end up being symbols of the weakness of the court."


    ABC




    © 2025 ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved

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