Mamdani, the Democratic candidate in the Nov. 4 election - claimed to the New York Times on Thursday that Netanyahu is a war criminal who committed genocide with Israel's military campaign in Gaza, according to a report published by the newspaper on Friday.

He said he would comply with an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued in November 2024 for Netanyahu's arrest for alleged war crimes in Gaza by detaining the Israeli leader at the airport if he ever sets foot in New York and Mamdani is mayor.

"This is something I intend to fulfill. My desire is to ensure that this is a city that stands up for international law," Mamdani noted, repeating a promise he made earlier in the mayoral race, according to the Times.

In New York, the city police commissioner serves at the pleasure of the mayor. However, the Times report cited legal experts who estimated that arresting Netanyahu"would be virtually impossible" for Mamdani and could bring him into direct conflict with the federal government.

The US does not recognize the authority of the International Criminal Court and is not a member of that body, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands. In February, Donald Trump ordered economic sanctions against the International Criminal Court, arguing that the court has no jurisdiction over the US or Israel.

Netanyahu, for his part, said at a meeting with Trump in July that he was"not worried" about Mamdani's desires to arrest him. He suggested that he would travel with Trump and then"we'll see" if he gets arrested. As the Times noted, Trump then added that Mamdani"better behave -- or he's going to be in big trouble."

"Strong reactions"

The Times pointed to polls showing that New Yorkers now generally support the Palestinians over Israel in the latest war with Hamas. Despite this, the media outlet said it expected Mamdani 's comments to provoke strong reactions in the city, which is the second largest Jewish home in the world, after Israel's capital Tel Aviv.

A poll released Wednesday showed Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist state assemblyman, leading former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo by a commanding 15 percentage points, less than two months before the end of the race to take over one of the world's most prominent cities.

Cuomo is running as an independent candidate after losing the June Democratic primary to Mamdani. Behind Mamdani and Cuomo in the Emerson College Polling, PIX11 and Hill survey were Republican candidate Curtis Sliva and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent.