New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged on Tuesday he does not have the authority to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, but urged US federal authorities to do so if the Israeli prime minister visits the US later this year.
Mamdani calls Netanyahu a war criminal
“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 said he believed the International Criminal Court 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.”
Call for federal action
“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. 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.
Reactions from Trump and Netanyahu
His remarks drew rebuke from Donald Trump, who insisted Netanyahu “will not be arrested” on US soil. Trump said in a social media post 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. The US does not recognize the ICC’s authority and is not a party to it.
