In a video posted Wednesday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged that the city lacks legal authority to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he visit New York, but said the federal government has the power to do so. The admission marks a retreat from his earlier statements urging Netanyahu's arrest.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a video on Wednesday morning, July 22, acknowledging that the city has no legal authority to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the clearest retreat yet from his earlier push to enforce an International Criminal Court warrant during Netanyahu's upcoming UN visit.
The video, posted around 07:00 Jerusalem, comes less than 12 hours after Mamdani released another video Tuesday night calling Netanyahu a "war criminal" and urging the federal government to act. In that earlier clip, he had already conceded he could not make the arrest himself, but the latest statement goes further, explicitly stating that the city lacks jurisdiction after reviewing all legal options.
Mamdani's position has shifted markedly over the past week. On Saturday, July 18, he said he was seeking a legal loophole. By Sunday, he acknowledged he would not pass new laws. On Tuesday, July 21, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) called him a "complete clown" and the White House reportedly rejected the arrest threat. Throughout, Israeli officials — including Consul General Ofir Akunis and UN Ambassador Danny Danon — as well as US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, have dismissed the threats as political theater with no legal basis, as The Zioneer reported.
Mamdani has not withdrawn his call for federal action, leaving the possibility of continued pressure from his office. The legal question of whether the federal government could arrest a visiting head of state remains unresolved and politically charged.
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