Rep. Ro Khanna replicated New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the U.S.
The California Democrat said President Trump should arrest the Jewish leader, who will visit the White House on Monday, citing the International Criminal Court’s 2024 warrant for alleged war crimes during the conflict in Gaza.
“The American president should arrest Netanyahu or [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in accordance with international law,” Mr. Khanna told MeidasTouch reporter Pablo Manriquez on Friday.
“Full stop. America needs to cooperate with the ICC,” he added. “It’s a matter of human rights, and it’s a matter of a rules-based international order, and he should order the marshals to arrest someone if they come to our jurisdiction.”
His request came after Mr. Mamdani this month said he would order the New York Police Department to arrest Mr. Netanyahu when the Israeli leader goes to the United Nations in September.
Mr. Trump countered the mayor fast, saying Mr. Netanyahu “will not be arrested in any way, shape or form.”
Mr. Mamdani followed up by admitting he doesn’t have the legal authority to arrest Mr. Netanyahu. New York City lacks the independent power to act on ICC warrants, plus the U.S. is not a member of the ICC and the U.N. maintains diplomatic protection for leaders visiting its New York headquarters.
Still, Mr. Khanna didn’t let up, saying, “This is about accountability. You can’t just kill women and children, have an ICC arrest warrant and then walk into the United States of America and think nothing is gonna happen to you. If you come to our jurisdiction, America is a country that’s gonna enforce international law.”
He did concede that the administration would not pursue an arrest.
“He’s not a law-and-order president, and he doesn’t really care about human rights or international law,” Mr. Khanna said. “It’s embarrassing to the United States and to the world community.”
