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Mamdani drops Netanyahu arrest pledge
Legal review found New York City lacks authority to enforce ICC warrant.
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IANS - Wed, 22, Jul 2026
- 04:30 EDT
- 29
Zohran Mamdani / Wikimedia commons
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city cannot arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant, stepping back from a campaign pledge after a legal review concluded his administration lacks the authority to do so.
Mamdani, however, continued to describe Netanyahu as a "war criminal" and urged the Trump administration to arrest him if he visits New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September.
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"My administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here," Mamdani said in a video posted on X.
"It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant," he added.
Mamdani said the federal government has the authority to act and called on Washington to join the ICC and execute the warrant. The United States is not a member of the court.
His remarks came a day after President Donald Trump said Netanyahu would not be arrested while visiting the United States.
"Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Monday.
During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani repeatedly said he would direct city authorities to arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli leader visited New York. He also recently told The New York Times Magazine that his administration had been consulting the city's Law Department on whether the warrant could be enforced.
Despite the legal review, Mamdani maintained his criticism of the Israeli prime minister.
"Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. The architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people," he said.
"As I've said, I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes, as I do for anyone else charged by the ICC," he added.
Mamdani also said Netanyahu remained unwelcome in New York City.
"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.
Netanyahu's office rejected the allegations and criticized Mamdani's remarks.
"The ICC is a kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis," the office said in a statement posted on X.
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