NY mayor admits city cannot arrest Netanyahu under ICC warrant

New York City’s first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has publicly reversed his earlier pledge to detain Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the leader lands in the United States. The shift matters because it turns a local political stunt into a flashpoint for U.S.‑Israel relations, the future of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) reach, and the expectations of a city that hosts the nation’s largest Jewish diaspora.

In a video message released on Tuesday, Mamdani said New York “does not have the independent legal authority to enforce the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant” against Netanyahu. The mayor’s admission that “my administration has reviewed every avenue… it is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant” follows a week of back‑and‑forth with the New York Times, his own legal counsel, and the White House.

The legal barrier is simple yet consequential: the United States is not a party to the ICC and does not recognise its jurisdiction. As a result, any ICC warrant “does not apply in New York and Mr Mamdani has no legal basis to order an arrest,” according to the report by Aol. The mayor’s earlier promise—to “honour an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza”—now sits beside a federal policy that “does not recognise the jurisdiction of the Hague‑based court” and a presidential stance that “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form” while in the United States.

“I believe that prime minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani told the New York Times.

That declaration, made on a Saturday interview, was later qualified by the mayor’s own video, in which he warned that “while we cannot end the genocide on our own we can decide whether our silence will become another weapon.” The language mirrors the mayor’s long‑standing condemnation of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, which he has labelled “a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.”

“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people... while we cannot end the genocide on our own we can decide whether our silence will become another weapon.”

Netanyahu responded on a New York radio show, dismissing the mayor’s remarks as “terror actors” and accusing Mamdani of “secretly hating America.”

“I think [Mamdani] should look at who he’s condemning, who he’s praising… he’s condemning Israel, the one democracy that stands shoulder to shoulder with American values,” Netanyahu said. “He’s with the terror actors… And in fact I think secretly he hates America.”

The mayor’s retreat has been seized upon by Israeli officials as evidence of “anti‑Israel propaganda.” Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, in a statement reported by Israel Today, condemned Mamdani’s outreach toward “Hamas’s propaganda” and warned that “the person who needs to be arrested is not our Prime Minister, but you, Mr Mamdani.” Danon added, “Enough with the blood libels.”

“You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas’s propaganda. Do your job.”

Republican Representative Mike Lawler of New York accused the mayor of a “glaring double standard,” pointing out that Mamdani has shown “little interest in pursuing dictators and enemies of the United States while singling out Israel.” Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman went further, calling the mayor’s video “the most horrific package of lies against the State of Israel ever promoted by an American government official.”

This may be the most horrific package of lies against the State of Israel ever promoted by a government official. Even Hamas does not lie to this extent! It is despicable and entirely unbecoming a mayor of New York City.

Even as the legal question clarifies, the political arena widens. Mamdani’s office has shifted the burden to Washington, urging federal authorities to enforce the warrant “instead,” a move that is unlikely to succeed given the Trump administration’s reinstated sanctions on the ICC and its public dismissal of the court’s authority.

Netanyahu’s scheduled visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly in late September now carries added diplomatic tension. While the mayor’s office says it will “not be writing our own laws” to sidestep the legal barrier, local Jewish organisations have called for a “focus on city governance” instead of “Hamas‑aligned rhetoric.” The debate illustrates how municipal leadership can become a proxy battlefield for international disputes.

What to watch next

• Whether the U.S. Department of State issues a formal response to Mamdani’s request for federal enforcement of the ICC warrant.
• Netanyahu’s appearance at the UN General Assembly in late September and any statements he makes about the New York episode.
• Potential legal challenges from New York civil‑rights groups demanding the mayor’s office address accusations of bias.
• Reactions from the ICC and its chief prosecutor regarding the limited practical impact of the New York episode on the court’s broader mandate.

Timeline of key developments

Date/Period	Event
Saturday (interview)	Mamdani tells the New York Times he believes Netanyahu belongs in The Hague.
Monday	President Donald Trump reiterates that Netanyahu “will not be arrested … in any way, shape, or form.”
Tuesday (video release)	Mamdani announces New York lacks authority to enforce the ICC warrant and calls on the federal government to act.
Following week	Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon condemns Mamdani’s remarks as “blood libels” and urges the mayor to focus on his duties.
Late September (planned)	Netanyahu’s scheduled address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The episode underscores a clash between international legal aspirations and the realities of U.S. Sovereignty. While Mamdani can no longer promise an arrest, his outspoken stance on Gaza has already reshaped the conversation about how local leaders engage with global human‑rights mechanisms. The coming weeks will reveal whether the mayor’s legal concession will ease diplomatic friction, or whether the political fire he has stoked will continue to burn across New York’s streets and Capitol Hill alike.