New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s abandoned pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu divided House Democrats, with some backing his proposal while others said the mayor lacked the legal authority to carry it out."Arrest him," Rep.Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., told Fox News Digital.
"He’s a war criminal."Throughout Mamdani’s campaign, he repeatedly insisted that he would order the New York Police Department (NYPD) to enforce the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and arrest Netanyahu for his role in the war in Gaza.MAMDANI GOES BACK ON CAMPAIGN PROMISE, SAYS NYC CAN'T ARREST NETANYAHUNew York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s abandoned pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu divided House Democrats.(Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)But Mamdani finally acknowledged his inability to do so as the city lacks the "independent legal authority" to do so.
On Tuesday night, he took to social media with a video calling on the federal government to execute the warrant by the ICC to arrest Netanyahu, also stating to be "equally clear" that the prime minister is "not welcome in New York City.""I think that whether or not he has the authority about it, I don’t really have an opinion on," Rep.Summer Lee, D-Penn., said.
She continued, "But I do think that Netanyahu is a war criminal.""I wish that we had a country that didn’t excuse war criminals," Lee said.Tlaib also offered Mamdani help with the arrest as she wasn’t sure if he had the authority to complete the arrest."I don’t know if it applies to citizen’s arrest," she said."If he needs help, tell him to call me."CNN LEGAL ANALYST CALLS OUT 'UTTERLY RIDICULOUS' CLAIM BY MAMDANI ABOUT NETANYAHU ARRESTRep.
Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., backed the attempt to pursue arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to try executing the International Criminal Court's warrant against him while visiting New York.(Justin Sullivan/...