Mamdani says New York lacks authority to arrest Netanyahu, calls him ‘war criminal’

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Tuesday that city officials have determined they do not have the "independent authority" to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

Mamdani, calling Netanyahu a "war criminal," made the announcement in a video posted on X, a day after President Donald Trump vowed that Israel's leader would not be arrested in the United States.

Mamdani earlier had said New York City's legal department was discussing the possibility of arresting Netanyahu when the prime minister is in the city to attend the United Nations General Assembly in September.

In his video on Tuesday, Mamdani said, "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 with Benjamin Netanyahu came here," the mayor said.

"It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant," Mamdani said.

He added that the U.S. federal government does have such authority, and " I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant."

That is unlikely to happen given Trump's statement on Monday, and his support for Netanyahu against critics of Israel's war against the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

"I want to be equally clear: Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large," Mamdani said.

"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. to defend the humanity and dignity of all people," the mayor said.

Mamdani, in an interview published Saturday by The New York Times' "The Interview" podcast, had said, "I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague," Mamdani told hat published Saturday.

"He's a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court. And what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years," the mayor said.

Trump, in a Truth Social post on Monday, said, "Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America."

"He is fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which recently killed 52,000 innocent protestors, and has spent the last 47 years killing American Soldiers, and others," Trump wrote. "The only ones that should be arrested are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented SPIRAL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION, something that should have been dealt with years ago, by previous Presidents!"

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on Nov. 21, 2024, alleging he is "responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population" in Gaza, as well as "crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024."

The case relates to Israel's war on Gaza after the attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Netanyahu's office on Sunday blasted the ICC and Mamdani.

"The ICC is a kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis," the prime minister's office said in a statement on X. "Its bogus arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu was issued by a disgraced former ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, a few days before allegations of sexual misconduct against him became public."

"Instead of backing Khan's criminal behaviour, Mr. Mamdani should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York," the post said. "Like Karim Khan, Mamdani appears interested in diverting public attention from his follies and attacking the leader of the Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East."