Mamdani: We do not have the power to arrest Netanyahu, and I call on the federal government to execute the International Criminal Court's warrant

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Tuesday that his office lacks the authority to execute an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling on U.S. federal officials to intervene.

In a short video posted on social media, Mamdani explained, “I have reviewed with my administration all available avenues under existing law to determine whether New York City can execute an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court if Benjamin Netanyahu comes here.”

He added, “It is clear that we do not have independent legal authority to execute this arrest warrant. However, the federal government does have that authority, and I urge it to join the International Criminal Court and execute this warrant.”

In 2024, the Hague-based ICC announced that it had reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu was responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the Israeli attack on Gaza following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023.

U.S. President Donald Trump pledged on Monday that the Israeli prime minister would not be arrested if he attended the upcoming United Nations General Assembly summit in New York in September.

Mamdani said in the video, “Anyone with eyes, heart, and conscience must recognize the scale of the devastation he has caused and understand that his proper place is before the court, as I have previously stated.”

He added, “I agree with the International Criminal Court that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes, just as anyone else accused by the court should be.”