Mayor Mamdani drops Netanyahu arrest pledge 2 months before UN assembly

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged he lacks legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, retreating from a campaign promise that drew international attention 2 months before the UN General Assembly.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city cannot enforce an International Criminal Court warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, walking back a campaign pledge he made ahead of the UN General Assembly in September.

"It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant," Mamdani said in a video posted to X on Tuesday, while calling on the federal government to act. "Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large."

The democratic socialist mayor had told the New York Times earlier this month that he and the city's legal department were discussing options for arresting Netanyahu if he attends the UN gathering. President Donald Trump said Monday on Truth Social that Netanyahu "will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America." The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny.

The reversal exposes the limits of local officials attempting to conduct foreign policy through law enforcement. A 2002 US law — the American Service-Members' Protection Act — broadly prohibits federal, state, and local cooperation with the ICC, and visiting heads of state fall under Secret Service protection. That means the NYPD has no operational path to detain Netanyahu even if Mamdani had pursued the warrant.

Campaign Promise Meets Legal Reality

Mamdani had made arresting Netanyahu a centerpiece of his mayoral campaign last year, pledging to order the NYPD to act on the ICC warrant. The promise energized anti-Israel leftists but drew sharp criticism from Israeli officials and Jewish groups. Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, responded to Mamdani's video by saying "enough" and accusing the mayor of serving "Hamas' propaganda."

The ICC's November 2024 warrants alleged that Netanyahu and Gallant used "starvation as a method of warfare" by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeting civilians in Gaza. The US is not among the 124 states party to the Rome Statute that established the court. Congress passed the American Service-Members' Protection Act in 2002 — known informally as "The Hague Invasion Act" — authorizing the president to use "all means necessary" to free US or allied officials detained by the tribunal.

Historical Precedent for Local Enforcement

The last time a US mayor attempted to use local law enforcement to enforce an international arrest warrant was in 2013, when activists urged then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to detain Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir during the UN General Assembly under an ICC warrant for genocide. Bloomberg declined, citing federal jurisdiction over foreign policy — the same legal barrier Mamdani now faces.

Mamdani's retreat leaves his progressive base without the concrete action they were promised. The mayor offered no alternative enforcement mechanism in his video, saying only that the city would "examine every tool we have to defend the humanity and dignity of all people." With the UN General Assembly scheduled to begin Sept. 15, Netanyahu's attendance would test whether the mayor faces political blowback from the left for his reversal or from moderates for having made the pledge at all.

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