New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has asked the United States government to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been the subject of an International Criminal Court warrant since November 2024.
In a video published Tuesday, Mamdani said his administration had examined «every available avenue» to determine whether the New York Police Department could detain Netanyahu in the event of a visit to the city.
The conclusion reached by the city's lawyers was that the municipality does not have the independent authority needed to execute the warrant. «The federal government, however, does», Mamdani argued, calling on the United States to join the Court and act on the order. He added that Netanyahu «is not welcome» in New York.
The mayor called Netanyahu a war criminal and «the architect of a terrible genocide against the Palestinian people». That last characterization is Mamdani's political assessment, not the charge contained in the International Criminal Court warrant.
The ICC holds that there are reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are responsible for the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare and for the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. Netanyahu is also accused, in his capacity as a civilian superior, of bearing responsibility for attacks intentionally directed against the civilian population. The charges cover the period between October 8, 2023 and May 20, 2024.
Netanyahu and the Israeli government reject the charges, contest the Court's jurisdiction, and describe it as a political body hostile to Israel. Neither Israel nor the United States is a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty on which the ICC is founded. Washington therefore does not have the same obligation as member states to execute its arrest warrants. The Court, moreover, has no police force of its own and depends on the cooperation of national governments.
Mamdani's statement came after days of debate over what powers the mayor actually holds. Last week he had said he was in contact with the city's legal department to determine whether Netanyahu could be arrested should he arrive in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, scheduled for September.
Donald Trump had responded on Monday by assuring that Netanyahu «will not be arrested, under any circumstances» while in the United States.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon also attacked Mamdani, accusing him of spreading Hamas propaganda and of meddling in foreign policy instead of addressing New York's problems.
The video therefore marks a partial retreat from the prospect of an arrest carried out directly by city police — though not from the mayor's political position. Mamdani acknowledged that New York cannot act on its own and shifted responsibility to Washington, while knowing that the Trump administration has already ruled out any action against Netanyahu.
