# Mamdani says New York City can’t arrest Netanyahu but the federal government should

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/mamdani-says-new-york-city-cant-arrest-netanyahu-but-the-federal-government-should/
- Published: 2026-07-22T06:04:29+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-29T01:26:06+00:00
- Original publisher: NPR (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.npr.org/2026/07/22/g-s1-134880/mamdani-nyc-netanyahu
- Topics: Government, Middle East, Politics, World

## Key points

- Mamdani says NYC can't enforce Netanyahu's ICC arrest warrant
- He wants the federal government to act and join the ICC
- Trump says Netanyahu won't be arrested in the US

## Summary

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Tuesday that the city has no legal authority to enforce the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but urged the US federal government to act instead. The comments come amid heightened attention on whether Netanyahu could face arrest on American soil, and highlight the limits of a city mayor's power over international law enforcement matters, even one who had previously campaigned on the issue.

In a video statement, Mamdani said Netanyahu "is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large," while acknowledging "we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant," and called on Washington to "join the ICC." The ICC issued warrants against Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant in 2024 over alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza, including claims they used starvation as a method of warfare, which Israeli officials deny. President Trump said on Monday that Netanyahu "will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form" while in the US, and Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon accused Mamdani of serving "Hamas' propaganda" rather than New Yorkers. Mamdani had previously said during his campaign that he would seek to arrest Netanyahu if he visited New York for the UN General Assembly in September.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.