New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Tuesday the city cannot enforce the international arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but called on the federal government to act.
In the video, Mamdani described the Israeli prime minister as a "war criminal" and said he is not welcome in New York City.
"It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant," he said in a video posted on X. "The federal government, however, does and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant," he added, referring to the International Criminal Court.
Mamdani had told the New York Times earlier this month that he and the city's legal department were discussing arresting Netanyahu if he comes to New York City for the U.N. General Assembly in September.
President Donald Trump Monday told Netanyahu in a social media post that he "will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America." The post did not directly mention Mamdani.
Mamdani had said throughout his mayoral election campaign last year that he would seek to order the city’s police to arrest Netanyahu under the criminal court's warrant over Netanyahu's role in the war in Gaza.
In his video message Tuesday, Mamdani said his administration has reviewed all avenues available and determined the city can't execute the arrest warrant.
"I want to be equally clear, Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large," he said.
Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N., responded by telling the mayor "enough."
"You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas' propaganda," he said in a statement on social media. "Do your job!"
The world’s top war-crimes court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others in 2024, accusing them of crimes against humanity in Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
They said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have used "starvation as a method of warfare" by restricting humanitarian aid and have intentionally targeted civilians in the war.
The genocidal war on Gaza has killed over 73,000 people, mostly women and children. The war was triggered by the 2023 Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, which caused 1,200 deaths in southern Israel.
Nearly all of Gaza's 2 million people now live on a tiny strip of land along the coast, mainly in makeshift tents or damaged buildings.
