Zohran Mamdani has admitted he is unable to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he arrives in New York City - despite his threat to do exactly that.
Mr Mamdani, the Big Apple's socialist Muslim Mayor, had previously pledged to arrest the Israeli Prime Minister if he were to visit the city for the UN General Assembly in September.
The Mayor repeatedly described Mr Netanyahu as a "war criminal" throughout his campaign and said he would honour an International Criminal Court (ICC) for Mr Netanyahu's arrest in connection to alleged war crimes in Gaza.
But now in a two-minute video address, New York City's first Muslim mayor has now admitted his office cannot arrest the Israeli Prime Minister.
He said: "My administration has reviewed ever 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.
"It is clear we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant."
Mr Mamdani is now calling for the federal government to join the ICC and execute the arrest warrant.
Neither the US nor Israel are members of the organisation.
Zohran Mamdani repeatedly said he would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu during his campaign
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The Mayor reiterated that Mr Netanyahu was "not welcome in New York City", continuing to describe him as a "war criminal at large".
Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the UN, has hit out at the video, which described Mr Netanyahu as the "architect of a horrific genocide".
He said on social media: "Enough with the blood libels. Enough with the attacks on Jewish organizations. Enough with the outreach to the Iranian regime.
"You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas's propaganda."
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The office of Benjamin Netanyahu described the ICC as a 'kangaroo court'
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Mr Mamdani, in an interview on Saturday, said he was having an "active conservation" with New York's legal department to arrest Mr Netanyahu - but remained steadfast that he "belongs in The Hague".
Asked to clarify whether it would be legal to arrest the Israeli Prime Minister, he told the New York Times: "Meaning that 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."
The threats to arrest Mr Netanyahu were met with a response from Donald Trump, who said the Israeli leader would "not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America".
"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!" he added.
Mr Danon told the UN General Assembly the Israeli Prime Minister would not be arrested and it was Mr Mamdani instead who should be put in handcuffs.
Danny Danon said it was 'enough with the blood libels' in response to Zohran Mamdani's two minute video
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And on Sunday, the Israeli Prime Minister's office described the ICC as a "kangaroo court" and said Mr Mamdani should "focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York".
The White House has issued sanctions against the ICC - which last week were challenged in court by US advocacy groups Democracy in the Arab World Now and the Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide.
The sanctions, dating to February 2025, impose visa restrictions and financial penalties on those who help the ICC investigate US citizens - with eight ICC judges, three ICC prosecutors and a UN official being sanctioned under Executive Order 14203.
Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories, was notably sanctioned by the US for her actions "against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives".
Also sanctioned was Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor who issued an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu, who is now facing accusations of sexual misconduct.