New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said his administration is examining whether it has the legal authority to arrest radical Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu should he visit the city for the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Speaking on The New York Times’ The Interview podcast, Mamdani said he believes Netanyahu “belongs in The Hague,” describing the Israeli premier as “a war criminal” facing charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The mayor said his office is in active discussions with the New York City Law Department to determine whether he has the legal authority to direct the New York Police Department (NYPD) to detain a visiting foreign leader.

“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end,” Mamdani said.

During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani had pledged to seek enforcement of the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu if the Israeli leader visited New York.

Netanyahu, however, dismissed the prospect in a recent radio interview, accusing Mamdani of supporting Hamas.

The radical Israeli prime minister said the mayor should reconsider “who he’s condemning” and “who he’s praising,” arguing that Israel shares America’s democratic values.

Mamdani has repeatedly criticised Israel’s military campaign in Gaza while also condemning Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

In the same interview, the mayor also criticised US policy on Gaza, calling Washington’s approach “bankrupt.”

He additionally voiced support for the possibility of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, defended New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, criticised President Donald Trump’s immigration policies while supporting cooperation on serious criminal cases, and said tackling affordability remains his administration’s top priority.