US envoy rejects NYC mayor's threat to arrest Netanyahu during UN visit

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's suggestion that his administration is exploring legal avenues to act against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his upcoming visit to the United Nations has drawn a sharp rebuke from the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz.

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Mayor Mamdani. Here's why your threat to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu in New York City during UN General Assembly is not going to happen.

Waltz dismissed Mamdani's remarks as "pure political theater," asserting that U.S. law and international agreements preclude such an action. He explained on X that the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, which underpins the International Criminal Court, and that the UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of government. "Head-of-state immunity applies, and federal authority trumps any local mayor's wishes," Waltz stated.

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The United States is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the International Criminal Court. The UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of government. Head-of-state immunity applies, and federal authority trumps any local mayor's wishes.

Mamdani had told The New York Times that his administration was consulting the city's Law Department to determine if any legal authority existed to detain Netanyahu. He acknowledged that any action would be confined to existing law, but reiterated his belief that Netanyahu "belongs in The Hague" and called him a "war criminal."

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Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that's what we will do, but we won't be writing our own laws to that end.

Adding to the criticism, Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, accused Mamdani of neglecting his mayoral responsibilities. "If anyone should be arrested, it is New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani," Danon said, alleging that the mayor was failing to address rising antisemitism in his city while targeting Israel. Danon affirmed that Netanyahu's visit would proceed as planned, stating, "It will not change a thing. 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."

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I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He's a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.