New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is refusing to say that Hamas should lay down its weapons and doubled down on his vow to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested if he sets foot in the city.
The self-described democratic socialist made the remarks during a tense interview on Wednesday with Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum, who pressed him on his past anti-Israel statements and his views on the U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire.
When asked whether he would credit President Donald Trump for helping broker the deal, Mamdani said it was “too early” to do so.
“I think it’s too early to do so,” he said. “But if it proves to be something that is lasting, something that is durable, I think that’s where you go.”
MacCallum then challenged Mamdani to say whether Hamas should put down its weapons, a key pillar of the ceasefire that the terror group has resisted.
Instead of answering directly, Mamdani pivoted to domestic issues.
“I believe that any future here in New York City is one that we have to make sure is affordable for all,” he said. “I don’t really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety.”
Mamdani also reaffirmed his pledge to order the NYPD to arrest Netanyahu, who is the subject of an International Criminal Court warrant for “war crimes” in Gaza.
“I would exhaust every legal option in front of me,” he said, defending his earlier remarks that drew sharp criticism from Jewish leaders and legal scholars alike.
Legal experts note that the United States does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction, and that any such arrest would almost certainly be unconstitutional.
Israel and the U.S. have insisted that Hamas surrender all weapons as a condition for lasting peace, while Hamas leaders have publicly rejected full disarmament. Trump has warned the terrorist group of “sever consequences, though enforcement remains uncertain as the fragile truce faces further uncertainty after Hamas failed to return all 28 murdered hostages’ bodies to Israel by the 72-hour deadline.
During the interview, Mamdani also faced questions about past remarks calling the NYPD “racist” — comments he has since tried to distance himself from. In 2020, amid nationwide protests over George Floyd’s killing, Mamdani tweeted that the NYPD was “racist, anti-queer, and a major threat to public safety,” and used the hashtag #DefundTheNYPD.
Pressed by MacCallum, Mamdani acknowledged that those statements were wrong and issued a rare on-air apology.
“Absolutely, I’ll apologize to police officers right here,” he said. “I apologize because I’m looking to work with these officers, and I know that these men and women who serve in the NYPD put their lives on the line every single day.”
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