Mamdani Says Netanyahu Is a ‘War Criminal’ but New York Can’t Arrest Him

Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday night challenged the federal government to execute an international law arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel while acknowledging that New York City did not have “independent legal authority” to do so during the prime minister’s expected visit to the city in September.

Mr. Mamdani called Mr. Netanyahu a “war criminal” in a video he posted to X urging the arrest. The mayor’s announcement came days after he said in an interview with The New York Times Magazine that he had been in “active conversation” with the city’s Law Department about executing a warrant issued for Mr. Netanyahu in 2024 by the International Criminal Court.

On Tuesday, Mr. Mamdani said in the video that those conversations had led his administration to determine it does “not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant.” But he urged the federal government to arrest Mr. Netanyahu, whom he described in the video as “the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.”

Seated between the flags of the United States and New York City, Mr. Mamdani looked directly into the camera and solemnly told New Yorkers that Israel’s prime minister had no place visiting New York.

“Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large,” said Mr. Mamdani. “While we cannot end the genocide on our own we can decide whether our silence will become another weapon, and we can examine every tool we have to defend the humanity and dignity of all people.”

There appears to be no chance of federal law enforcement arresting Mr. Netanyahu in the near future. President Trump said on Monday that the Israeli leader, whose country is a longtime American ally, would not be arrested in the United States “in any way, shape, or form.”