NYC has no authority to arrest Netanyahu, federal authorities do, Mamdani says

Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, has said the city lacks the authority to carry out the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but urged US federal authorities to do so should he visit the United States, Euronews writes.

“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal,” Mamdani said in a video statement posted to social media. “The architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.”

In his video address, Mamdani said he agreed with the ICC that Netanyahu should be arrested and put on trial. But after reviewing “every avenue available under applicable law,” the mayor said his administration had determined it did not have the “independent legal authority to enforce this warrant.”

“The federal government, however, does,” he continued, adding: “I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant.”

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that “Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested in any way” while he is in the United States.

Mamdani had previously said he did not rule out the possibility of Netanyahu’s arrest if the Israeli PM visits New York in September for the United Nations General Assembly session.