New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has acknowledged that his administration does not have the legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits the city, despite maintaining that the International Criminal Court (ICC) was right to issue a warrant for his arrest.
In a video statement, Mamdani said his administration reviewed every legal avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could enforce the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu. However, he said the city lacks the independent legal authority to execute the warrant.
The mayor instead called on the United States federal government to enforce the ICC warrant, arguing that it has the legal power to do so.
Mamdani maintained that Netanyahu should face trial over alleged war crimes, accusing the Israeli leader of responsibility for the deaths of more than 73,000 Palestinians, attacks on hospitals and aid workers, and the obstruction of humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
He also referred to a recent United Nations report alleging that Palestinian children continued to be deliberately targeted by Israeli armed forces months after the ceasefire, saying the allegations reinforced the case for prosecuting Netanyahu before the ICC.
Although he conceded that New York City could not carry out the arrest, Mamdani declared that Netanyahu was not welcome in the city and said local authorities could still choose not to remain silent over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
He said, “Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people. He is responsible for the killing of more than 73,000 people, for the maiming of tens of thousands of children, as those who survive undergo amputation without anaesthesia.
“For the targeting of neonatal hospitals and maternity care centres, denying newborns even the chance to live. For the countless people he starved as he blocked food and humanitarian aid from reaching them. For the gunning down of hundreds of aid workers and journalists.
“And just last month, the UN confirmed that Palestinian children continue to be deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli armed forces, more than eight months after the so-called ceasefire. The list goes on and on. All as we, as Americans, pay for the bombs that do the killing.
“There is a reason the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest. As human beings, we have spent generations building a shared understanding that there are crimes so grave they offend all of humanity. Anyone, with their eyes, with their heart, with their conscience, should recognise the devastation he has wrought and understand that he belongs before a court of law.
“As I’ve said, I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes, as I do for anyone else charged by the ICC. My administration has reviewed every avenue available, under applicable law, to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here. It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant.
“The federal government, however, does. And I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant. And I want to be equally clear. Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York.
“While we cannot end the genocide on our own, we can decide whether our silence will become another weapon, and we can examine every tool we have to defend the humanity and dignity of all people. That is my commitment to you.”
The remarks came days after United States President Donald Trump declared that Netanyahu would not face arrest during any visit to the United States following comments by Mamdani suggesting the city was assessing its legal options.
“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump wrote in a social media post that did not directly mention the mayor.
The Hague-based ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 over alleged war crimes committed during the Gaza conflict. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denied the allegations.
Netanyahu is expected to travel to New York in September for the annual United Nations General Assembly.
Israel has dismissed the ICC arrest warrant as “bogus” and described the court as a “kangaroo court.”
The ICC, established in 2002, has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. However, neither the United States nor Israel is a member of the court.