New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has concluded that his administration does not have the legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits the city for the United Nations General Assembly in September, reversing a campaign pledge. In a video posted to social media on Tuesday, Mamdani said his team had reviewed every available avenue under applicable law and determined that the city lacks the independent legal authority to enforce the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant. “The federal government, however, does,” he said, calling on Washington to join the ICC and execute the warrant.

Independent legal experts cited by Reuters said Mamdani’s determination was consistent with U.S. law. Because the United States is not a member of the ICC, there is no mechanism under U.S. law to enforce the court’s warrants, said Alex Whiting, a Harvard Law School professor and former ICC prosecutor. A 2002 U.S. law, the American Service-Members Protection Act, specifically prohibits the U.S. from extraditing anyone to the ICC. Sitting heads of government such as Netanyahu are generally immune from arrest in U.S. courts, and representatives of U.N. member states have legal immunity while travelling to and from a U.N. meeting, added Rebecca Ingber, a Cardozo Law School professor and former State Department lawyer.

President Donald Trump has already ruled out any arrest. In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump said Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape or form” while in the United States, describing the Israeli leader as fighting the Islamic Republic of Iran. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 over alleged war crimes in Gaza; Israel rejects the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes. Mamdani, a Democrat, had repeatedly called Netanyahu a war criminal during his mayoral campaign and said he would order police to enforce the warrant.

Reactions to Mamdani’s shift have divided political figures. Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, told Fox News Digital that Netanyahu is a war criminal and offered to help Mamdani with a citizen’s arrest. Representative Summer Lee, also a Democrat, said she had no opinion on the legal authority but agreed that Netanyahu is a war criminal. In contrast, Representative Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, said Mamdani is not a Democrat but a socialist attempting to hijack the party, and accused him of being obsessed with the issue rather than running the city. Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said Mamdani was elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas propaganda. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in a post on X, accused Mamdani of antisemitic slander and of aligning with those who deny the October 7 attacks.

Mamdani, who has not specified when his administration informed him of the legal limits, said at a press conference on Wednesday that Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City and that he would support honouring ICC warrants against Hamas leaders as well. He described the October 7 attack as a horrific war crime but did not call it genocide. The mayor suggested that New Yorkers who feel frustration should protest when Netanyahu visits. No further legal or political steps have been announced. Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.