Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Sunday slammed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over remarks suggesting he could seek to arrest the Israeli leader if he visits the city, accusing him of “attacking the leader of the Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East.”
The PMO dismissed the International Criminal Court as a “kangaroo court” with “no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis,” and called its arrest warrant for Netanyahu “bogus.” The statement said that the warrant was issued by disgraced former ICC prosecutor Karim Khan shortly before sexual misconduct allegations against him became public, in a “clear attempt by Khan to divert public attention and seek protection from scrutiny.”
Netanyahu’s office asserted that under his leadership, Jerusalem has “taken unprecedented wartime measures to minimize harm to civilians while confronting Hamas,” which the statement described as a “genocidal terrorist organization that uses Palestinians as human shields and deliberately targets innocent Israeli civilians.”
Turning to New York’s mayor, the statement urged Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, to “focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York” rather than “back Khan’s criminal behavior,” accusing him of trying to divert attention from his own record.
In an interview with The New York Times published on Saturday, Mamdani said he was considering whether to arrest Netanyahu if he visits New York, citing the ICC warrant issued over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Mamdani said he is consulting with the city’s Law Department and would act within legal limits, adding that he believes Netanyahu “belongs in The Hague.”
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said on Saturday that threats by Mamdani to possibly order the arrest of Israel’s prime minister will not dissuade Netanyahu from speaking “proudly” at the U.N. General Assembly’s annual General Debate in the Big Apple in September.
“Zohran Mamdani has failed at managing New York, and instead of fulfilling his role as mayor and fighting the rising wave of antisemitism in his city, he chooses to engage in incitement and generate headlines through attacks against the State of Israel,” Danon tweeted in Hebrew.
Nevertheless, Netanyahu will “stand before the world to clearly proclaim Israel’s truth and its uncompromising right to defend its citizens,” he wrote.
“And if someone needs to be arrested—it’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani,” the diplomat added.
Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said on Saturday that Mamdani’s threat to have Netanyahu arrested during the U.N. General Assembly is “pure political theater.”
“Mayor Mamdani. Here’s why your threat to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu in New York City during U.N. General Assembly is not going to happen,” the U.S. envoy stated. “The United States is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the International Criminal Court. The U.N. Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of government. Head-of-state immunity applies, and federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes.”
