THE Mayor of New York has said he lacks the authority to have Benjamin Netanyahu arrested if he arrives in the city – as he urged the US Government to do so.
Zohran Mamdani said that the Israeli prime minister was a “war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people” but said he was powerless to order the execution of an international arrest warrant against Netanyahu.
During his mayoral campaign last year, he had pledged that Netanyahu would be arrested if he came to New York City should his bid for City Hall prove successful.
Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. pic.twitter.com/YRezmW6YVx
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) July 22, 2026
But in a video address posted on Twitter/X on Wednesday, Mamdani said that the city did not have the power to execute the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for the Israeli politician.
He said: “Anyone with their eyes, with their heart, with their conscience should recognise the devastation he has wrought and understand that he belongs before a court of law.
“As I’ve said, I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes, as I do for anyone else charged by the ICC.
“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. It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant.”
He called on the federal government, which does not recognise the ICC and is not a party to it, to execute the warrant instead.
Mamdani went on: “The federal government, however, does – and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant. And I want to be equally clear: Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large.
“While we cannot end the genocide on our own, we can decide whether our silence will become another weapon. And we can examine every tool we have to defend the humanity and dignity of all people.”
His call has already been rejected by Trump, who has insisted that Netanyahu “will not be arrested” in the US.
The Israeli PM has said he was “not concerned” about Mamdani’s comments.
Mamdani set out Netanyahu’s record since the beginning of the Gaza genocide in stark terms, holding him accountable for the deaths of more than 73,000 people since Israel’s onslaught began in October 2023.
He said: “Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.
“He is responsible for the killing of more than 73,000 people; for the maiming of tens of thousands of children, as those who survive undergo amputation without anaesthesia; for the targeting of neonatal hospitals and maternity care centres, denying newborns even the chance to live; for the countless people he starved as he blocked food and humanitarian aid from reaching them; for the gunning down of hundreds of aid workers and journalists.
“And just last month, the UN confirmed that Palestinian children continue to be deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli armed forces more than eight months after the so-called ceasefire. The list goes on and on, all as we as Americans pay for the bombs that do the killing.
“There is a reason the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest. As human beings, we have spent generations building a shared understanding that there are crimes so grave they offend all of humanity.”
