NEW YORK, July 22 (Xinhua) -- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said late Tuesday that municipal authorities lack the independent legal authority to execute an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while calling on the U.S. federal government to enforce it.
In a video message posted on social media, Mamdani said that his administration reviewed all legal avenues under applicable law and determined that the city can not independently detain the Israeli leader.
"It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant," Mamdani said. "The federal government, however, does, and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant."
Mamdani described Netanyahu as a "war criminal" and said that the Israeli prime minister is "not welcome in New York City," following earlier discussions regarding potential legal actions should Netanyahu travel to the city for the United Nations General Assembly in September.
The mayor's remarks drew pushback from both U.S. and Israeli officials. U.S. President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Monday that Netanyahu "will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America."
Meanwhile, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also rejected the mayor's comments.
The Hague-based ICC issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Netanyahu and other officials over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Neither the United States nor Israel is a member state of the international tribunal, which was established in 2002 to prosecute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. ■