New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani conceded late Tuesday that the city does not have the authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mamdani had vowed during his mayoral campaign last year that if Netanyahu visited New York City, his administration would enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant accusing the Israeli leader of committing war crimes during Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Mamdani did not back down in recent days, saying the city would „follow all applicable local laws“ if Netanyahu visited for the United Nations General Assembly this fall.
But in a Tuesday evening social media video, Mamdani said the city had concluded it could not seek the Israeli prime minister’s arrest.
„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,“ Mamdani said. „It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant.“
Mamdani called on the federal government to arrest Netanyahu instead, calling him a „war criminal“ and the „architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.“
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon condemned the video, writing on social media: „Zohran Mamdani, ENOUGH. Enough with the blood libels.“
„You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas‘ propaganda,“ he wrote.
President Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social that Netanyahu „will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.“
CBS News has reached out to Netanyahu’s office and the White House for comment.
The United States is not a party to the global treaty that created the International Criminal Court, and generally does not recognize its authority.
A prosecutor for the ICC applied for arrest warrants against Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and several Hamas officials in May 2024, following an investigation into both Hamas‘ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel and the Israeli military’s response in Gaza. About 1,200 people in Israel were killed in the Oct. 7 attack and 250 others were taken hostage, while over 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says.
Judges for the court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant later in 2024, finding „reasonable grounds“ to believe that the two Israeli officials deprived the civilian population of food, medicine and other humanitarian aid. Former Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, was also accused of crimes against humanity.
Israel has strongly condemned the warrants, with Netanyahu’s office saying in 2024 it „rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions and charges against it by the International Criminal Court, which is a biased and discriminatory political body.“
The Israeli government has long defended its conduct in the Gaza Strip, arguing it has tried to protect civilians during its intense aerial and ground operations and blaming Hamas for operating in densely populated areas. Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire last fall, though some operations have continued, and the Gaza Health Ministry has said more than 1,000 people have died during the ceasefire.