New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has walked back his earlier pledge to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister came to the city. In a new statement, the Mamdani Netanyahu arrest dispute shifted as the mayor said New York City does not have the legal authority to carry it out.
Instead of promising a city-led arrest, Mamdani said on social media that federal officials should move on the International Criminal Court warrant issued for Netanyahu. The ICC issued that warrant in 2024 over alleged war crimes in Gaza, and it also issued a warrant for a Hamas commander. Mamdani said his team had reviewed “every avenue available” and concluded that the city could not independently enforce the warrant.
The mayor’s latest comments came after he told the New York Times on Saturday that he was having an “active conversation” with law enforcement about whether the warrant could be enforced. In that interview, he said Netanyahu belonged in The Hague and described him as a war criminal charged by the International Criminal Court. He also said during his campaign for mayor that Netanyahu was a war criminal and has described the war in Gaza as a genocide.
