SerpApi.Org
During a press briefing on Monday, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani addressed his statement in a weekend interview with the Times that he has lawyers looking at whether the city can cite an International Criminal Court warrant to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he comes for the U.N. General Assembly in September.
He also denied reports that he planned to meet with a representative of the Iranian government-saying that the Iranians requested a meeting and he declined, but appeared to make a verbal slip, declaring, "we will not meet with the Israeli consulate" when he presumably meant "Iranian."
He stood by his statement about Netanyahu, reiterating: "He is the subject of this arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, and he is the architect of the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza as Israel's prime minister. These are not facts of my personal assessment. They are facts of public record."
"If someone is subject to a warrant from the International Criminal Court for these kinds of crimes, that is something I believe should be honored," he said.
Neither Israel nor the U.S. is a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty which created the International Criminal Court, but the ICC claims jurisdiction over "crimes" committed in Gaza because the State of Palestine is a member.
Realistically, the New York City Police Department almost certainly does not have the authority to execute an arrest warrant issued by anything other than a recognized American court, and Netanyahu would have diplomatic immunity as a visiting head of government attending the General Assembly.
Additionally, the American Servicemembers' Protection Act of 2002 strictly prohibits all federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies from any cooperation-including arrests, investigations, and intelligence sharing-with ICC warrants.
So Mamdani is trapped in a situation where the Israeli Prime Minister is coming, and he's being repeatedly pressed to welcome him by stating openly that New York will not arrest Netanyahu for Israeli actions in Gaza-which Mamdani refuses to publicly state, even though it is obviously true.
QUESTION: I was reading your interview over the weekend and wanted to ask you more about your conversations with your legal department about potentially arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.I also wanted to ask about reports that your administration reached out to the Iranian ambassador. How do you reconcile being so critical of the Israeli prime minister while at the same time meeting with the ambassador of Iran?
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I want to first clear up a few things. Our administration did not reach out to the prime minister of Iran. Our administration received a request from the Iranian consulate, and as soon as I heard of that, I made it clear that we are not meeting and we will not meet with the Iranian consulate here in New York City.
When it comes to Benjamin Netanyahu, we're speaking about someone who is the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant. He is the subject of this arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, and he is the architect of the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza as Israel's prime minister.
These are not facts of my personal assessment. They are facts of public record.
I believe that when someone is charged under an International Criminal Court warrant, it is something that should be taken seriously-whether it is Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin, or whomever else.
What I've also made clear is that my administration will follow all applicable local laws. That is our commitment, and that is something we will follow through on when it comes to adherence to local law. That's all I have to add on that.
QUESTION: Are you looking at arresting anybody else on that list of people who have been accused of committing international war crimes?
MAMDANI: My point is that if someone is subject to a warrant from the International Criminal Court for these kinds of crimes, that is something I believe should be honored. I have also said that we will follow our local laws.
