New York City Mayor Zoharan Mamdani clearly said on Tuesday that if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes to New York, he does not have the legal authority to arrest him. Mamdani released a video on social media platform After legal opinion, it became clear that the city administration has no independent authority to do so.
However, he said that the US federal government has this authority. He also appealed to the central government to join the ICC and implement the arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu. This statement is different from the statement given by Mamdani a few days ago. He told The New York Times that his legal team is figuring out what the process could be to arrest Netanyahu.
Netanyahu will not be arrested: Trump
US President Donald Trump also reacted on this issue. He wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that Netanyahu will not be arrested under any circumstances. Netanyahu may come to New York this year to participate in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Earlier, his office had accused Mamdani of raising this issue to divert attention from his political mistakes and targeting the Israeli leader.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also criticized Mamdani. He wrote on the Do your work.
The warrant was issued 2 years ago
In 2024, the ICC had issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu and some other Israeli leaders on war crimes charges. These allegations are related to Israeli military action in Gaza after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Israel denies all these allegations.
CNN Senior Legal Analyst Eli Honig said that the Mayor of New York does not have the authority to arrest any foreign prime minister or head of state. He told that America has not approved the Rome Law. Therefore, it is not America’s legal responsibility to implement the ICC warrant. He also said that only the US federal government can take decisions related to foreign policy and other countries.
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