Democratic New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday declined to say Hamas should disarm and relinquish power following President Donald Trump’s peace deal between Israel and the terrorist organization.
The broader 20-point peace agreement mandates Hamas permanently disarm and cede control of Gaza. MacCallum asked Mamdani twice on “The Story with Martha MacCallum” if Hamas should adhere to those terms, but he did not directly answer her queries.
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“Do you believe that Hamas should lay down their weapons and leave the leadership in Gaza?” MacCallum asked.
“I believe that any future here in New York City is one that we have to make sure that’s affordable for all,” Mamdani answered. “And as it pertains to Israel and Palestine that we have to ensure that there is peace. And that is the future we have to fight for.”
MacCallum repeated her question.
“But you won’t say that Hamas should lay down their arms and give up leadership in Gaza?” she asked.
“I don’t have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety and the fact that anything has to abide by international law,” Mamdani said. “And that applies to Hamas, that applies to the Israeli military. It applies to anyone you could ask me about.”
Trump warned during a Tuesday press conference about consequences for Hamas if it did not disarm.
“Well, they’re going to disarm, because they said they were going to disarm,” Trump told a reporter. “And if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them.”
“They know I’m not playing games,” he added.
Mamdani has previously received backlash for failing to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which is widely viewed as a call to violence against Jewish people. He marked the second anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel by accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of launching “a genocidal war,” while offering just a brief condemnation of the “horrific war crime” carried out by the terrorist organization.
The democratic socialist presently leads the mayoral race with 46% support among likely voters, followed by former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at 33% and Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa at 15%, according to a Thursday Quinnipiac University survey.
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