In new video, Mamdani acknowledges he doesn't have authority to arrest Netanyahu

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a new video Tuesday that he does not have the legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to come to New York City.

"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," Mamdani said in a video posted on X. "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."

"Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large," he said. "While we cannot end the genocide on our own, we can decide whether our silence will become another weapon."

CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig on Monday criticized the idea that Mamdani would be able to execute the arrest, arguing that he has no law enforcement authority. "It is utterly ridiculous for the mayor of New York City to even suggest that he might have the authority to order the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu or any visiting foreign head of state," Honig said on CNN's "The Source."