New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said that he is taking legal advice on whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be arrested if he comes to New York for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Netanyahu is going to come to New York to attend the session of the United Nations General Assembly to be held in September.
In an interview with The New York Times, Mamdani said that according to him, Netanyahu should not be in New York but in The Hague (Netherlands). He said, he is a war criminal. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has framed charges against him. Many people in the world also believe this. This situation has arisen due to his decisions and military actions in the last several years.
Does Mamdani have the power to arrest?
Mamdani said that even during the mayoral election campaign, he had said that if Netanyahu came to New York, he should be arrested. However, he now says that it is not clear to him whether, as the Mayor of New York City, he has the legal authority to arrest the Prime Minister of another country or not. That’s why he is taking advice from the city’s legal advisors. He said that I will do whatever the law of New York allows me to do.
Israel reacted strongly to this statement of Mamdani. Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, wrote on the social media platform X that Mamdani should focus on his responsibilities as mayor. He said that instead of dealing with the increasing anti-Semitism incidents in New York, he wanted to make headlines by attacking Israel.
Netanyahu’s New York visit scheduled
Dannon said Mamdani’s statement would not change anything. According to him, Prime Minister Netanyahu will come to New York as per the schedule, address the United Nations General Assembly and strongly present Israel’s position and the right to protect its citizens to the world. He also said that if anyone should be arrested, it is New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani himself.
Earlier in a New York radio program, Netanyahu had also targeted Mamdani. He had alleged that Mamdani supports Hamas. Netanyahu had also said, I think deep inside he hates America.
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