New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Tuesday that legal advisers had concluded the city could not enforce an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York later this year.
In a video posted on X, Mamdani said his administration had examined all legal options available under current law but found the city lacked the authority to execute the warrant.
Netanyahu is expected to travel to New York in September for the annual UN General Assembly.
“If Benjamin Netanyahu came here, it is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” he said, adding that the Israeli prime minister was “not welcome in New York City.”
During his election campaign, Mamdani had said he would seek to have Netanyahu arrested if elected mayor. He later softened that position, saying the matter required a legal review.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024 over alleged war crimes in Gaza. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the allegations.
Mamdani said in the video that President Donald Trump’s administration had the authority to enforce the warrant. Trump has ruled out doing so, and neither the United States nor Israel recognizes the ICC and are not bound by its decisions.