Ilhan Omar backs calls for Netanyahu arrest during UN visit
The Minnesota congresswoman told TMZ DC she agrees with Zohran Mamdani that Benjamin Netanyahu should face arrest when he visits the U.S.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
Rep. Ilhan Omar says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be taken into custody when he travels to the United States for the United Nations in September, according to a TMZ DC video interview.
The Minnesota Democrat was asked Wednesday about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s position that the federal government should intervene during Netanyahu’s planned UN trip. Mamdani had said, according to TMZ, that U.S. authorities should arrest the Israeli leader.
Omar told TMZ DC she agreed with Mamdani’s view. She said opposing what she called a “war criminal” should not be treated as a controversial position.
Her argument, according to TMZ, rests on the International Criminal Court. Omar said the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and that a country should act on it.
TMZ reported that Omar did not go as far as demanding that the United States carry out the arrest. The U.S. is not a party to the ICC, the outlet noted, and Omar instead pointed to France as a country that could take action.
The report did not include a response from Netanyahu.
Mamdani’s call put the issue in front of Omar
The exchange came after TMZ DC asked Omar about Mamdani’s earlier comments on Netanyahu’s expected visit. The mayor’s remarks put a blunt question into the political mix: whether any government should try to enforce the ICC warrant if Netanyahu is on Western soil.
Omar’s answer aligned her with Mamdani on the broad demand for action, while leaving distance on which country should do it. Her comments, as reported by TMZ, focused on the existence of the ICC warrant and the idea that enforcement should not depend on political friendships.
She also criticized what she described as a selective attitude toward international courts. Omar said some politicians ridicule bodies such as the ICC when their allies are under scrutiny, while invoking those same institutions against governments they oppose, according to TMZ.
Omar says it is bigger than politics
TMZ DC also asked Omar what it would take for a country to arrest Netanyahu. The outlet said she answered by explaining why she believes the matter goes beyond ordinary political disputes.
The interview adds Omar to the list of U.S. political figures weighing in on Netanyahu’s planned UN visit and the ICC warrant. Mamdani has urged federal involvement, while Omar has backed the call for an arrest but, according to TMZ, stopped short of assigning that job to the United States.
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.