Khanna backs Mamdani’s call for Netanyahu’s arrest

WASHINGTON: Cong­ress­man Ro Khanna has endorsed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant, saying the United States should cooperate with the international tribunal.

“The American president should arrest Netanyahu or [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in accordance with international law,” Khanna, a Democratic lawmaker from California, told the MeidasTouch news network in a hallway interview on Capitol Hill.

“America needs to cooperate with the ICC,” he said, adding that the issue was “a matter of human rights” as well as “a matter of a rules-based international order.”

“If someone comes to our jurisdiction, [the president] should order the marshals to arrest them,” Khanna said.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024, accusing him of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza following the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. Israel has rejected the allegations and criticized the ICC’s action.

Khanna’s comments came weeks after he said he was briefly detained by Israeli settlers and Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) personnel while visiting a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank. The California congressman, who has been mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential contender in 2028, said the incident could influence his political future.

“Free advice to the Israelis: It’s not a good idea to detain long-shot presidential candidates,” Kha­n­na told The New York Times. “Not how you’re going to build good will with the next American president, whoever that is.”

Mamdani, who has also been a vocal supporter of Palestinian rights, recently said he had explored whether New York City authorities could arrest Netanyahu when the Israeli leader visits the city for the United Nations General Assembly later this year. He later acknowledged that the city mayor does not have the legal authority to carry out such an arrest, but argued that federal authorities could act.

“I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes, as I do for anyone else charged by the ICC,” Mamdani said in a video shared on social media.

President Donald Trump rejected the idea earlier this week, saying Netanyahu would not face arrest while visiting the United States. “Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Khanna conceded that it was unlikely the president would follow his call, accusing Trump of disregarding international law. “He’s not a law-and-order president, and he doesn’t really care about human rights or international law,” Khanna said. “It’s embarrassing to the United States and to the world community.”

Khanna also argued that enforcing the ICC warrant could give Trump leverage after Netanyahu allegedly defied US pressure by continuing military strikes in Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement.

“This is about accountability,” Khanna said. “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 going to happen to you.”

Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Washington next week for talks with Trump, their first in-person meeting since the United States and Israel carried out joint strikes against Iran in late February. He is also expected to attend the funeral of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime supporter of Israel and an ally of the Israeli prime minister.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2026 ...