New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said the city lacks the legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant, but urged the US federal government to take action.
In a video posted on X on Tuesday, Mamdani described Netanyahu as a “war criminal” and insisted he was not welcome in New York City.
“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” Mamdani said. “The federal government however does and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant.”
His comments came weeks after he told The New York Times that his administration and the city’s legal department were examining whether New York could arrest Netanyahu if he attends the United Nations General Assembly in September.
US President Donald Trump, however, signalled support for the Israeli leader on Monday, saying in a social media post that Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.” Trump did not directly mention Mamdani.
During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani had repeatedly pledged to direct the New York Police Department to arrest Netanyahu if he visited the city under the ICC warrant. However, he said a legal review by his administration concluded that New York City has no independent authority to carry out such an arrest.
“I want to be equally clear, Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large,” he added.
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, rejected Mamdani’s remarks, urging the mayor to focus on governing the city.
“You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas’ propaganda. Do your job!” Danon wrote on social media.
The ICC issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, alleging crimes against humanity linked to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
The court said there were reasonable grounds to believe the two leaders used starvation as a method of warfare by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeted civilians during the conflict with Hamas. Israeli officials have consistently denied the allegations.
