Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has strongly criticized New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The backlash came after Mayor Mamdani said he was reviewing the possibility of arresting Prime Minister Netanyahu during the upcoming United Nations (UN) General Assembly.
On the 19th, Netanyahu's office said in a post on its official X (formerly Twitter) account that "Mayor Mamdani should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused to New York." It added, "Like former International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan, Mamdani appears interested in diverting public attention from his own failures and attacking the leader of the Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East."
Earlier, in an interview released on the 18th, Mayor Mamdani said he was discussing with the New York City legal team the scope of the mayor's authority to direct police to detain a foreign head of state. The remark was aimed at Prime Minister Netanyahu.
In an interview with The New York Times (NYT), Mayor Mamdani said, "Netanyahu should be in The Hague," and "He is a war criminal indicted by the ICC." He stressed, "I will do whatever is permitted by law in New York City."
Netanyahu's office targeted not only Mayor Mamdani but also the ICC. The office claimed, "The ICC is a kangaroo court with no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis," and "The false arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu was issued by disgraced former prosecutor Karim Khan." Pointing out that the warrant was issued days before allegations of sexual misconduct were raised against former prosecutor Khan, it characterized the move as "Khan's clear attempt to divert public attention and escape scrutiny."
Mayor Mamdani has previously vowed to deploy the New York Police Department (NYPD) to execute arrest warrants against leaders wanted by the ICC, such as Prime Minister Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The UN General Assembly, where world leaders gather, will be held this September at UN headquarters in New York.
Meanwhile, the ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, said in 2024 that there were reasonable grounds to believe Prime Minister Netanyahu bears responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the attack on the Gaza Strip. Israel's attack followed Hamas's cross-border assault on October 7, 2023.
