New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani acknowledged yesterday that he does not have the authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but urged United States (US) federal authorities to do so when Netanyahu visits the US later this year.
“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people,” Mamdani said in a video posted to social media.
Mamdani, a Muslim of Indian descent, said he believed the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest over alleged war crimes was justified, but admitted he lacked the legal authority to enforce it.
“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.
“The federal government, however, does – and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant,” the mayor added. “And I want to be equally clear: Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large.”
Netanyahu is expected to travel to New York in September for the UN General Assembly meeting.
Mamdani said last week he was reviewing whether he would be able to arrest Netanyahu during that visit, after pledging to do so during his mayoral campaign last year.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said in reference to the Dutch city where the ICC, which issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024, is located.
The US does not recognize the ICC’s authority and is not a party to it.
His remarks drew rebuke from Donald Trump, who insisted Netanyahu “will not be arrested” on US soil.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social: “Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.”
Trump added in the social media post that Netanyahu is “fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran” and “the only ones that should be arrested are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented spiral of death and destruction.”
Netanyahu, meanwhile, said he was “not concerned” about Mamdani’s comments.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Mamdani.
