Mamdani says he won't try to arrest Israel's Netanyahu, acknowledges NYC doesn't have legal authority

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July 22, 2026 / 12:05 AM EDT

/ CBS News

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani conceded late Tuesday that the city does not have the authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Mamdani had vowed during his mayoral campaign last year that if Netanyahu visited New York City, his administration would enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant accusing the Israeli leader of committing war crimes during Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Mamdani did not back down in recent days, saying the city would "follow all applicable local laws" if Netanyahu visited for the United Nations General Assembly this fall.But in a Tuesday evening social media video, Mamdani said the city had concluded it could not seek the Israeli prime minister's arrest."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," Mamdani said. "It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant."Mamdani called on the federal government to arrest Netanyahu instead, calling him a "war criminal" and the "architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people."Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon condemned the video, writing on social media: "Zohran Mamdani, ENOUGH. Enough with the blood libels.""You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas' propaganda," he wrote.