Describing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “war criminal,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani late Tuesday urged the United States federal government to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) and execute an arrest warrant against the former leader.Stating that the New York City does not have the legal authority to execute the warrant, Mamdani, shared a video statement on X, and called on the federal government to enforce the same, and asserting that he is not welcome in the city.Netanyahu is likely to attend the United Nations General Assembly in NYC in September this year. Last year, during his mayoral campaign, Mamdani had said that he would order the Police Department to arrest Netanyahu over his role in the war in Gaza.Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. pic.twitter.com/YRezmW6YVx— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) July 22, 2026The latest announcement comes just days after Mamdani, in an interview to The New York Times, claimed that the discussions on whether to arrest Netanyahu upon his arrival in the US, were underway among the members of his administration, including the Law department.Mamdani on NetanyahuMamdani called Netanyahu an “architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people”, responsible for the “killing of 73,000 people, for the maiming of tens of thousands of children, as those who survive undergo amputation without anaesthesia”.“For the countless people he starved as he blocked food and humanitarian aid from reaching them. For the gunning down of hundreds of aid workers and journalists. And just last month, the UN confirmed that the Palestinian children continue to be deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli armed forces, more than 8 months after the so-called ceasefire,” Mamdani underlined.As for we, as Americans, pay for the bombs that do the killing,” he said, adding that there’s a reason the ICC has issued a warrant for his arrest.Expressing his agreement with the ICC, he informed that his administration had reviewed all avenues available and arrived at the conclusion that the city cannot execute the arrest warrant.Story continues below this ad“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” he said, adding, “The federal government however does, and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this 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 added.Trump defends Israeli PMUS President Donald Trump, however, on Monday, assured Netanyahu over a social media post that he “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.” His post did not directly mention Mamdani.“He [Netanyahu] is fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which recently killed 52,000 innocent protestors, and has spent the last 47 years killing American Soldiers, and others,” Trump wrote over a post on TruthSocial.Story continues below this ad“The only ones that should be arrested are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented SPIRAL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION, something that should have been dealt with years ago, by previous Presidents! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he added.Both Mamdani’s and Trump’s comments come ahead of the scheduled parliamentary elections in Israel on October 27, where PM Netanyahu-led government would become the first dispensation to complete its full term in more than 50 years, according to the Times of Israel.‘Do your job’: Israel’s responseThe Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, responded to Mamdani’s post by telling the NYC mayor “enough.”“You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas’ propaganda,” he said over a statement online, asking him to “Do your job!”Story continues below this adDanon earlier also accused Mamdani of failing to focus adequately on rising antisemitism in NYC. “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,” Danon said over another statement last week.Even Netanyahu had expressed earlier that the arrest wasn’t a matter of concern for him. During a radio appearance, he, moreover, accused the Mayor of supporting Hamas.“He’s condemning Israel, the one democracy that stands shoulder to shoulder with American values,” Netanyahu added.“Who does he champion? Hamas, that calls openly to massacre every Jew on earth, that conducted that horrible massacre, the worst massacre on Jews since the Holocaust,” Netanyahu intensified his attack on Mamdani.Story continues below this adArrest warrants against NetanyahuIn 2024, the International Criminal Court had issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the Gaza war, the Associated Press reported.At the time, the court had expressed there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. These charges were later denied by Israeli officials, the report stated.(With inputs from AP)