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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined Wednesday to say when he learned the city had no authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after repeatedly campaigning on a promise to detain the Israeli leader if he came to New York.
Pressed over whether the now-abandoned arrest threat amounted to “political theater,” Mamdani said his administration had reviewed the applicable laws and concluded that only the federal government could execute the International Criminal Court warrant.
“It’s clear that the city does not have the authority to execute this warrant,” Mamdani admitted at a New York City Hall news conference Wednesday, urging the federal government to act on the ICC warrant even though the U.S. is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction in the U.S. or over Israel, which is also not a member.
With the Trump administration already fully rejecting his call to arrest Netanyahu for being a “war criminal,” Mamdani called for New Yorkers to take to protest “if anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition.”
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“I believe that this is an arrest warrant that should be executed, and also that I would follow the laws that we had, and I would be respectful of those laws,” he added. “And that is why I asked my administration to review of all applicable laws. And I believe, however, in that same finding, that the United States government does have the ability to both joining the International Criminal Court and executing that work, and that is something that I want to see happen.”
Short of that, Mamdani suggested that people protest when the Israeli leader visits for the United Nations General Assembly, potentially in September.
“This is a city where, if anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition, protest is something that we will always respect,” Mamdani told reporters. “I leave it to New Yorkers themselves to make that decision.”
The mayor was repeatedly asked why he did not resolve the legal question before taking office, given that experts had challenged the legality of his arrest pledge during the campaign.
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Mamdani would not provide a date for when his administration informed him that the city lacked the power to carry out the ICC warrant.
“That’s a review that I asked them to do,” he said. “They made it clear that this is not possible through applicable law.”
Mamdani said Palestinian New Yorkers disappointed that he cannot fulfill his arrest promise had reason to be frustrated, declaring that Netanyahu would no longer be welcomed by City Hall.
“I understand it because we are talking about someone who has been charged with crimes against humanity, someone who has visited the city on many an occasion and who has been welcomed by previous mayors,” Mamdani said.
“I want to make it very clear that that welcome ends with me,” he continued. “I will not be welcoming Benjamin Netanyahu or any other war criminals when they come to this city.”
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Mamdani also faced questions over criticism that his focus on Netanyahu created a one-sided account of the Israel-Hamas war.
Asked directly whether he considered Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack to be genocide, Mamdani did not use that term.
“I consider Oct. 7 to be a horrific war crime,” he said. “I’ve considered it to be something that should be deeply opposed with every single fiber of our being.”
Mamdani said his approach was rooted in what he called the “universality of humanity,” arguing that officials should not “pick and choose which crimes against humanity we oppose.”
The mayor also said he would support honoring ICC warrants against Hamas leaders as well as Netanyahu.
“My interest in executing that warrant is not specific to Benjamin Netanyahu, but to anyone who they put a warrant towards for war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Mamdani said.
He accused Netanyahu of having “orchestrated this genocide” in Gaza and described the Israeli prime minister as a “war criminal.” Israel has repeatedly rejected genocide allegations and condemned the ICC case as illegitimate.
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Mamdani said he remained committed to protecting Jewish New Yorkers, including those who disagree with his position.
“My responsibility to them is to ensure that they are cherished, they are celebrated and they are safe in their city,” he said, “and that never are they made to feel as if their opinions on any one issue is the precondition for that safety.”
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