New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he is exploring whether the city has legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits for the United Nations General Assembly this fall. President Donald Trump has already shut that down.
“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday. “He is fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which recently killed 52,000 innocent protestors, and has spent the last 47 years killing American Soldiers, and others.”
The clash began when Mamdani told the New York Times in an interview that he believes Netanyahu “belongs in The Hague,” where the International Criminal Court is based. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024, charging him with war crimes and crimes against humanity for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, including using starvation as a method of warfare. Israel rejects the allegations and disputes the court’s jurisdiction. The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute that established the ICC.
Mamdani told the Times his administration is in an “active conversation” with the city’s Law Department over what legal authority New York City possesses should Netanyahu travel to the city for the UN gathering. Pressed on whether he would direct the NYPD to arrest Netanyahu, Mamdani said: “We’re not talking about a personal assessment of Benjamin Netanyahu. We’re talking about the International Criminal Court and the fact that they have a warrant out for this prime minister’s arrest, and I think it’s important to talk about the weight that that has as a charge, and that also, as the mayor of New York City, I’ll be following the laws of New York City.”
Trump was not the only one to push back. US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz called Mamdani’s remarks “pure political theater,” arguing the mayor has no legal authority. Waltz pointed out that the US is not a party to the ICC treaty, the UN Headquarters Agreement protects visiting heads of government, head-of-state immunity applies, and “federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week outlined a plan to “isolate the ICC,” saying the court “is waging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles, but with statutes, compacts, and the force of so-called international law.” Rubio said the administration would begin to dismantle the ICC “brick by brick, if necessary.”
Netanyahu himself dismissed Mamdani’s threats during a radio interview. “I think he should look at who he’s condemning, who he’s praising,” Netanyahu said. “He’s condemning Israel, the one democracy that stands shoulder to shoulder with American values.”
The UN General Assembly typically brings dozens of heads of state to New York each September, creating unusual security and diplomatic considerations for the host city. The ICC warrant for Netanyahu has become increasingly contentious as world leaders weigh whether they would act on it if he enters their countries. European nations are split on the question.
Mamdani has called Netanyahu a “war criminal” throughout his campaign and tenure as mayor. When asked whether he stands by that label, he replied: “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court. And what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many, purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”
Trump, a longtime Netanyahu ally despite recent public disagreements over Middle East policy, Axios reported in June that Trump called his Israeli counterpart “crazy” on a phone call, stood firmly by the Israeli leader on this matter. The two men went to war together against Iran in February.
“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!” Trump wrote.
Whether Mamdani actually has any legal mechanism to act on the ICC warrant remains unclear. His office has not publicly detailed any legal analysis supporting the idea that New York City could independently execute an international arrest warrant against a visiting foreign head of government. Legal experts note that US treaty obligations, federal supremacy, and diplomatic immunity conventions would likely block any such attempt.
But the political theater has already served its purpose: the question of Netanyahu’s arrest is now part of the public conversation ahead of the UN General Assembly, and Mamdani has drawn a clear line between his administration and the Trump administration’s approach to international justice.