A high-stakes diplomatic and legal dispute has erupted over the expected September visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to New York City, after New York’s mayor publicly called on the U.S. federal government to enforce an outstanding International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against the Israeli leader.
Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, laid out his position in a viral two-minute social media video posted Tuesday, just hours after former U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Netanyahu would “not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America”. The video, posted to X on July 22, 2026, has already amassed more than 30 million views.
In the clip, Mamdani made blunt allegations against Netanyahu, calling him a war crime suspect and the mastermind of what he described as a devastating genocide against the Palestinian people. He cited multiple humanitarian and human rights claims to back his stance: pointing to soaring rates of Palestinian amputees in the Gaza Strip, referencing a United Nations report that alleged Israeli forces deliberately targeted and killed Palestinian children, and claiming the prime minister is responsible for the deaths of over 73,000 people and the maiming of tens of thousands of children. Mamdani also added that Netanyahu, who Mamdani says has ordered military strikes in six countries since 2023, is also responsible for the killings of international aid workers and journalists reporting on the conflict.
Mamdani acknowledged that the ICC’s 2024 arrest warrant against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is legally justified, but confirmed that his administration has reviewed all possible legal pathways and confirmed New York City lacks independent authority to execute the warrant. He clarified that after active discussions with New York’s law department, it remains unclear whether the city can order the New York City Police Department to detain a sitting foreign leader, so the power to act rests solely with the federal government.
“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. It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant. The federal government, however, does, and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant,” Mamdani said in the video.
Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to New York this coming September to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly, a regular high-level diplomatic gathering hosted by the city. The ICC issued the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024, charging both with war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Gaza starting in October 2023. The warrants marked a historic first for the 24-year-old court, as it was the first time ICC judges issued arrest warrants for senior officials allied with Western powers.
Since the warrants were issued, the ICC has faced intense backlash, including widespread criticism, threats, and punitive measures from the United States — Israel’s closest ally. The U.S. and Israel are not signatories to the Rome Statute, the international treaty that established the ICC. All 125 countries that are party to the statute, including every member of the European Union, hold a legal obligation to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant and turn them over to the court for prosecution. However, the ICC itself has no independent enforcement powers to carry out arrest warrants, and the court cannot conduct a trial in absentia.
Mamdani’s call to action has drawn responses from pro-Palestine activists and commentators, who have pushed the mayor to go beyond rhetoric and take tangible, within-authority actions to oppose what they describe as complicity in Israeli crimes.
Prominent Palestinian writer and activist Mohammed el-Kurd argued that Mamdani could use his municipal platform to push for action against U.S.-based groups that fund Israeli settlement activity. “If Mamdani wants to take tangible action within the bounds of his office, he could easily urge Attorney General and other relevant authorities to go after New York-registered tax-exempt organizations that funnel tens of millions of US dollars into Israeli settler expansion and violence every year,” el-Kurd noted.
Another activist, Nerdeen Kiswani, said the city’s treatment of Netanyahu’s visit must match Mamdani’s rhetoric, to make clear the Israeli leader is not welcome in New York. “Don’t roll out the red carpet for a wanted war criminal. Don’t use the NYPD to insulate him from public outrage. Don’t suppress the New Yorkers who take to the streets demanding accountability,” Kiswani wrote on X. “If Netanyahu is truly not welcome in New York City, that principle should be reflected in how the city treats his visit, not just in rhetoric.”