After New York Mayor Zoharan Mamdani announced that he was looking for a "legal loophole" that would allow him to order the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the UN General Assembly this September, Netanyahu responded sharply today (Sunday) for the first time to the remarks: "Mamadani is trying to divert attention from his failures.".
In an interview with the New York Times, Mamdani said that in his opinion, "Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague" and that he is a "war criminal" - but admitted that he would act only within the framework of the powers granted to him by law.
A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said: "The International Criminal Court is a 'kangaroo' court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis. Its bogus arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu was issued by the tainted former ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, days before the sexual assault allegations against him became public knowledge. This was a clear attempt by Khan to divert public attention and seek protection from criticism.".
The bureau emphasized: "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel has taken unprecedented steps during wartime to minimize harm to civilians while confronting Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that uses Palestinians as human shields and deliberately targets innocent Israeli civilians.".
""Instead of supporting Khan's criminal behavior, Mamdani should focus on repairing the damage his policies have caused to New York. Like Karim Khan, Mamdani seems interested in diverting public attention from his follies and attacking the leader of the Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East.".
Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, reacted sharply to the remarks, accusing Mamdani of failing to manage the city and ignoring anti-Semitism on its streets in favor of incitement against Israel.
Danon added: "If there is anyone who should be arrested, it is Mayor Mamdani himself.".
Mamdani has previously pledged to work to arrest Netanyahu based on the ICC's 2024 arrest warrant, even though the United States does not recognize its authority and is not bound by its decisions.
US Ambassador to the UN, Mike Walz, also attacked Mamdani's words, clarifying: "US federal authority trumps any wishful thinking of a local mayor.".
In a post he published, Walz explained that the threat would not materialize for several key reasons: the US is not a party to the Rome Statute, the UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting leaders, and immunity applies to the head of state.
He concluded his remarks by calling Mamdani's threats "pure political theatrics.".
