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Mamdani backs off arrest
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration cannot execute an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if Netanyahu visits New York for the United Nations general assembly in September, after reviewing “every avenue available under applicable law.”
“Elise Martin Published on July 21, 2026 at 12:21 PM • Updated on July 21, 2026 at 3:03 PM The essentials "I believe the Prime Minister Netanyahu has his place in The Hague”
Mamdani told reporters, “It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” and instead called on the federal government to “join the ICC and execute this warrant.”
The ICC issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity connected to the war in Gaza, including “starvation as a method of warfare, and … murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”
Mamdani’s shift came after he had previously pledged to arrest Netanyahu, and the BBC reported he had earlier said, “This is something that I intend to fulfill.”
Pushback and competing claims
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, condemned Mamdani’s video remarks on social media, writing, “Zohran Mamdani, ENOUGH. Enough with the blood libels.”
In the same dispute, Mamdani urged the U.S. to act on the ICC warrant, saying, “The federal government, however, does – and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant.”
President Donald Trump responded that Netanyahu would not be arrested “in any way, shape, or form” while in the United States, and the BBC reported Trump said Netanyahu was “fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The Guardian framed the controversy as a test of how support for Palestinian rights plays out in New York politics, quoting Mamdani’s view that Israel’s actions in Gaza had “offended the conscience, the morals, the mere humanity of so many New Yorkers.”
What’s at stake next
The dispute centers on whether Netanyahu can be detained during his expected September trip to New York for the UN General Assembly, with Mamdani saying the city lacks authority while calling on federal officials to execute the ICC warrant.
Mamdani also tied his position to the Gaza war, describing Netanyahu as “the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people” while insisting, “While we cannot end the genocide on our own, we can decide whether our silence will become another weapon.”
The BBC reported that the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and also for a Hamas commander, and that the ICC has authority to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes on the territory of states party to the Rome Statute.
In parallel, the BBC said Trump’s stance leaves the warrant’s execution dependent on U.S. action, noting that “the US is not a member of the ICC,” even as Mamdani continued to press the federal government to join and enforce the court’s order.
