Zohran Mamdani says it’s ‘too early’ to give Trump credit for negotiating a Gaza ceasefire deal

Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic candidate for New York City mayor, said Wednesday it was “too early” to credit President Donald Trump for brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, saying he would be willing to do so if the ceasefire was “long-lasting” and “long-lasting.”

“As far as the ceasefire goes, I’m grateful and I’m hopeful that it will actually last and last,” Mamdani told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum.

Asked by MacCallum whether he credited Trump, whose administration negotiated the first phase of the peace plan with Israel and Hamas, Mamdani replied: “I think it’s too early to do that.”

“If it turns out to be something sustainable, something sustainable, then I think that’s where credit is given,” he said.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Wednesday evening that “even Barack Hussein Obama and top Democrats praised President Trump for his historic peace deal that received overwhelming support from Israeli and Arab leaders. The little communist is clearly not ready for prime time.”

Mamdani, who won the Democratic mayoral primary in June, defeating nearly a dozen other Democratic candidates — including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — has faced scrutiny for his views on Israel and the Middle East.

He has long supported recognition of the state of Palestine and has called the war in Gaza a “genocide.” He was previously criticized by his opponents and Jewish groups when he initially refused to condemn the phrase “globalizing the Intifada” in a podcast interview.

In June, Mamdani told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that it was “not language that I use” and that “I don’t believe the role of the mayor is to control the discourse.”

A few weeks later, The New York Times reported that Mamdani told business leaders that he would “discourage” others from using the phrase.

In Wednesday’s interview with Fox News, Mamdani said he was still skeptical that the peace deal would last, citing reports that Israeli soldiers killed five Palestinians in Gaza on Tuesday.

“I continue to be concerned, because I have seen again, in recent days, reports that five Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army. And that’s what gives me pause before launching any form of praise or celebration at a time when this is still in its infancy,” Mamdani told MacCallum.

He also responded to the report that Hamas, which as part of the peace deal agreed to return living and deceased hostages taken during the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, returned a body that was not that of one of the hostages.

“I think these are bodies or remains that absolutely need to be returned. And I think I have no problem criticizing Hamas or the Israeli government because my criticisms all come from the area of ​​universal human rights,” Mamdani said.

Several families of deceased hostages called this week for an “immediate suspension” of the ceasefire agreement as only four of the 28 deceased hostages were initially returned to Israel.

Trump visited Israel this week to oversee the implementation of the first phase of the peace agreement and to speak before the Israeli Knesset.

Mamdani also reiterated his long-standing position on Wednesday about whether he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the subject of an arrest warrant imposed by the International Criminal Court.

“This is a city that believes in international law,” he said, adding: “I think we should enforce the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court.”

Mamdani added that he would not create legislation to enforce an international arrest warrant and that he would “exhaust all legal options before me” to arrest people under arrest warrants only if they traveled to New York.