While New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has backtracked on a pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he enters the city, those in the Big Apple remain split on the idea. Some believe Netanyahu is a war criminal who should be subject to the International Criminal Court\u2019s arrest warrant if he visits the United Nations in Manhattan this September. Others think it is hypocritical to focus only on the Israeli leader.<\/p>\n
\u2018Not welcome in New York City\u2019<\/p>\n Mamdani originally said he was looking into whether officials in New York City could arrest Netanyahu<\/a>. But while the Israeli prime minister is a \u201cwar criminal,\u201d New York City police officers do \u201cnot have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,\u201d Mamdani said in a video on X<\/a>. \u201cI want to be equally clear, Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large.\u201d The federal government should \u201cjoin the International Criminal Court and execute both this warrant as well as any warrant the International Criminal Court holds.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These words could inspire New Yorkers to hold \u201clarger demonstrations against Israeli officials and supporters during the U.N. General Assembly,\u201d given that Netanyahu is \u201cone of many foreign officials who have outstanding arrest warrants issued\u201d by the ICC, Elizabeth Kim said at Gothamist<\/a>. Talk of an arrest also \u201cgave the issue prominence at a time when Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s conduct of the war in Gaza has led two independent United Nations<\/a> inquiries and humanitarian groups inside and outside of Israel<\/a> to accuse him of perpetrating a genocide,\u201d say Sally Goldenberg, Dana Rubinstein and Liam Stack at The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Week<\/p>\n Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \nSUBSCRIBE & SAVE\n<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Sign up for The Week’s Free Newsletters<\/p>\n From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n Latest Videos FromThe Week<\/p>\n Some Palestinian advocacy groups are still pushing for additional action to be taken<\/a> against Netanyahu by New York City officials. Palestinians \u201cwelcomed Mr. Mamdani\u2019s statement,\u201d but \u201cthis has never been about one individual,\u201d Nerdeen Kiswani, the co-founder of the pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, said to the Times. Mamdani also admitted he \u201csympathized with New Yorkers who were \u2018disappointed\u2019 to hear that Mr. Netanyahu would not be arrested,\u201d said Goldenberg, Rubinstein and Stack.<\/p>\n \u2018A selective approach\u2019<\/p>\n Some feel the idea of arresting Netanyahu<\/a> is unwarranted. Going after the Israeli prime minister presents a \u201cselective approach to ICC arrest warrants,\u201d said Zvika Klein at The Jerusalem Post<\/a>. The U.N. General Assembly always \u201chosts the largest annual gathering of accused war criminals on Earth\u201d who \u201carrive on diplomatic passports, sweep past the barricades on First Avenue, address the world from the green marble rostrum and fly home.\u201d When the U.S. \u201cdecides a foreign leader belongs in a courtroom, it has tools,\u201d but New York City is \u201cnot among them.\u201d International law \u201csurvives on the belief that it applies to everyone, or it protects no one.\u201d<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n Others consider a Netanyahu arrest even more risky. Lawmakers may have \u201cadvised the mayor that attempting an arrest could have subjected him and his collaborators to criminal liability,\u201d said Paul Mauro at The Wall Street Journal<\/a>. The law \u201cexplicitly states that \u2018abducting\u2019 any person who is \u2018a foreign official, an internationally protected person or an official guest\u2019 is a federal offense.\u201d So if officials \u201cdiscussed the logistics of such an operation with the mayor and either he or they took any action directed at making it happen,\u201d they \u201ccould all have faced federal charges.\u201d<\/p>\n