New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said late on Tuesday (July 21, 2026) that the city would not be able to execute an arrest warrant issued by the world’s top war-crimes court for Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, but urged the federal government to do so.

In the video Mr. Mamdani described the Israeli Prime Minister as a “war criminal” and said he is not welcome in New York City.

“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” he said in a video posted on X. “The federal government however does and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant,” he added, referring to the International Criminal Court.

Mr. Mamdani had told the New York Times earlier this month that he and the city’s legal department were discussing arresting Mr. Netanyahu if he comes to New York City for the U.N. General Assembly in September.

President Donald Trump on Monday (July 20, 2026) told Mr. Netanyahu in a social media post that he “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.” The post did not directly mention Mr. Mamdani.

Mr. Mamdani had said throughout his mayoral election campaign last year that he would seek to order the city’s police to arrest Mr. Netanyahu under the criminal court’s warrant over Mr. Netanyahu’s role in the war in Gaza.

In his video message on Tuesday, Mr. Mamdani said his administration has reviewed all avenues available and determined the city can’t execute the arrest warrant.

“I want to be equally clear, Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large,” he said.

Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N., responded by telling the mayor “enough.”

“You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas’ propaganda,” he said in a statement on social media. “Do your job!”

The world’s top war-crimes court issued arrest warrants for Mr. Netanyahu and others in 2024, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza.

They said there was reason to believe Mr. Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant have used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and have intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is in talks over whether to try to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an upcoming UN summit, he said in an interview published on Saturday (July 18, 2026)— prompting a sharp rebuke from Mr. Netanyahu’s camp.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mr. Mamdani told The New York Times. “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.”

The leftist Mr. Mamdani, who has called Israel an “apartheid regime,” added: “That is an opinion that is held by many, purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”

Mr. Mamdani admitted he was not sure if he has the power to order the New York Police Department to detain a foreign leader but is discussing the matter with the city’s legal team.

“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do,” he said.

The UN General Assembly, a major gathering of world leaders, takes place in September at UN headquarters in New York.

Mr. Mamdani in the past has vowed to send the NYPD to enforce arrest warrants against leaders wanted by the International Criminal Court, including Mr. Netanyahu or Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Hague-based ICC said in 2024 that it had reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu was responsible for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, quickly called out Mr. Mamdani.

“Instead of focusing on his responsibilities as mayor and confronting the rising wave of antisemitism in his city, he has chosen to incite hostility and generate headlines by attacking the State of Israel,” Mr. Danon wrote on X.

“It will not change a thing. Israeli Prime Minister @netanyahu will come to New York, address the United Nations General Assembly with pride, and stand before the world to state Israel’s truth and its unwavering right to defend its citizens,” he said.

“And if anyone should be arrested, it is @NYCMayor Zohran Mamdani.”

Mr. Netanyahu has accused Mr. Mamdani of supporting Hamas, saying on a recent New York radio show: “I think, secretly, he hates America.”