New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Tuesday the city lacks legal authority to carry out an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a video posted on X, Mamdani said, "The federal government however does and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant," and he called Netanyahu a "war criminal" and said, "Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large."
Earlier this month Mamdani said he and the city's legal department were discussing arresting Netanyahu if he comes to New York City for the U.N. General Assembly in September, and he had vowed during his mayoral campaign to order the city's police to enforce the ICC warrant.
His earlier statement that New York City might enforce an arrest warrant drew criticism from other Democrats.
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social Monday that Netanyahu "will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America."
Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N., said "ENOUGH. Enough with the blood libels," and wrote on social media, "You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas' propaganda."
The Hague-based International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others in 2024, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza.
A prosecutor for the International Criminal Court applied for arrest warrants in May 2024 following an investigation into Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the Israeli military's response, and judges later in 2024 found "reasonable grounds" to believe the officials had deprived civilians of food, medicine and other humanitarian aid.
Judges said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have used "starvation as a method of warfare" by restricting humanitarian aid and have intentionally targeted civilians, charges Israeli officials deny; Netanyahu's office in 2024 said it "rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions and charges against it by the International Criminal Court, which is a biased and discriminatory political body."
About 1,200 people in Israel were killed in the Oct. 7 attack and 250 others were taken hostage, while over 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says.
The United States is not a party to the treaty that created the International Criminal Court and generally does not recognize its authority.
News organizations reached out to Netanyahu's office and the White House for comment.