New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said that he does not have the authority to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, but urged the US government to do so if the Israeli prime minister visits the country.
The mayor made the remarks in a social media video on Tuesday, hours after US President Donald Trump said Netanyahu "will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America".
"Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people," Mamdani said in the two-minute clip that has since garnered more than 30m views.
He went on to cite several examples of Israel targeting Palestinians, including the number of amputees in Gaza and a UN report which stated that Israeli soldiers had "deliberately" targeted and killed children.
"He is responsible for the killing of more than 73,000 people, for the maiming of tens of thousands of children," Mamdani said, before adding that the Israeli premier, who has attacked six countries since 2023, was responsible for the killing of aid workers and journalists.
