Mamdani acknowledges he can’t arrest Netanyahu as mayor, but he doubles down his support for the ICC order and urges federal authorities to execute it

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is pushing for federal authorities to execute an international criminal court warrant for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu should the Israeli prime minister visit the city this fall, The Guardian reported. Although Mamdani previously stated he was in conversation with city lawyers to see if his administration could carry out an arrest, he acknowledged during a press conference on Wednesday that he lacks the legal authority to direct the New York police to take action.

Mamdani is now calling on the federal government to step in and handle the situation. “I call on the federal government to join the international criminal court and to execute both this warrant as well as any warrant the international criminal court holds,” he told reporters. This shift in strategy follows a video statement posted on social media where the mayor explicitly labeled the Israeli prime minister “a war criminal” and declared he is “not welcome in New York City.”

The International Criminal Court issued these warrants in 2024, accusing Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant of crimes against humanity and war crimes, specifically citing starvation as a method of warfare, murder, and persecution. Mamdani has made his stance clear on where he believes the prime minister belongs. “I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” he told the New York Times last week.

Despite his vocal support for the ICC, the path forward is complicated

Neither the United States nor Israel is a member of the International Criminal Court, and the US government has historically opposed the tribunal. President Donald Trump has already ruled out any possibility of an arrest on American soil. In a social media post earlier this week, the president stated that Netanyahu will not be arrested, adding that the prime minister is fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The mayor’s comments have sparked a wide range of reactions. Pro-Palestinian advocates have expressed mixed feelings, with some praising the moral clarity of his position while others were disappointed that he walked back his earlier campaign pledge to personally seek the Israeli leader’s arrest.

Meanwhile, pro-Israel officials have been highly critical. Jonathan Harounoff, the former international spokesperson for Israel at the United Nations, told NY1 that he believes the mayor should “stay in his lane” and characterized the move as “political theater.” Senator John Fetterman also weighed in, calling the mayor “a clown” and stating that the matter is not his purview.

Mamdani remains steadfast in his position, rejecting claims that the war in Gaza is unrelated to his duties as mayor. He argued that the actions in Gaza have offended the conscience, the morals, and the mere humanity of many New Yorkers.

While some legal scholars have defended his efforts to use his platform to address the issue, the office of the Israeli prime minister has dismissed the mayor’s rhetoric. They stated that the mayor appears interested in diverting attention from his own policies and labeled the International Criminal Court “a kangaroo court.” Netanyahu has previously said he is not concerned with the threat from the mayor.