Mamdani Gets a Reality Check from His Lawyers After Vow to Arrest Netanyahu
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s legal team has apparently informed him that he lacks jurisdiction to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested should the Jewish leader choose to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and the former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant in 2024, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including “starvation as a method of warfare, and … murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts” in relation to the nation’s military operations against Gaza, the U.K.’s Guardian reported.
The Israeli Defense Forces attacked Hamas in Gaza after the terrorist organization conducted an incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 and taking over 250 captive.
“I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani told The New York Times last week, referring to the ICC’s location in the Netherlands. Neither the United States nor Israel is an ICC member.
The mayor also asserted in a video posted online Tuesday that Netanyahu is a “war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people” who is “not welcome in New York City.”
“I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes,” Mamdani said.
Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. pic.twitter.com/YRezmW6YVx
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) July 22, 2026
However, the Guardian reported that Mamdani has been “in conversation” with city lawyers to determine whether his administration could arrest Netanyahu.
He said in his Wednesday video, “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.”
“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” the mayor added. “The federal government, however, does — and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant.”
“I want to be equally clear: Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large.”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz responded to Mamdani’s call for Netanyahu’s arrest, posting on social media that it’s “not going to happen.”
Mayor Mamdani: here’s why your threat to arrest PM Netanyahu’s in NYC during UNGA is not going to happen:
1. The U.S. is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC,
2. The UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of gov’t,
3.…— Ambassador Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) July 18, 2026
Waltz explained, “1. The U.S. is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC, 2. The UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of gov’t, 3. head-of-state immunity applies, & 4. federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes. This is pure political theater.”
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Monday that Netanyahu will not be arrested if he comes to the United States.
“The only ones that should be arrested are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented SPIRAL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION, something that should have been dealt with years ago, by previous Presidents!” he wrote.
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon fired back at Mamdani, saying, “If someone should be arrested, it is you … it is you that give coverage to terrorists, and it is you that actually sent his representative to meet with the Iranian ambassador to the UN.”
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon fires back at NYC Mayor Mamdani’s threat to arrest PM Netanyahu: “If someone should be arrested it is you… it is you that give coverage to terrorists, and it is you that actually sent his representative to meet with the Iranian ambassador to the… pic.twitter.com/bPfLoUBrTH
— The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) July 22, 2026
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton highlighted Mamdani’s hypocrisy with his call to arrest Netanyahu.
NEW: @SenTomCotton slams NYC Mayor Mamdani’s double standard, pointing out his push to arrest Israeli PM Netanyahu at the UN while staying silent on the Iranian representatives attending—despite their regime murdering tens of thousands.
“Is Zohran Mamdani threatening to arrest… pic.twitter.com/102lJWnPvU
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) July 22, 2026
He told Fox News on Wednesday, “Is Zohran Mamdani threatening to arrest butchers from Iran who have killed tens of thousands of their own people, or genuine war criminals from other countries? No. The one person he cites is the leader of the Jewish State of Israel.”
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