Netanyahu Has Accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani Of “Fomenting Hate” For Stating He Is A War Criminal
Netanyahu said that Mamdani was "fomenting hate" and trying to "turn one group against the other" and dismissed the ICC charges against him as "bogus."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of "fomenting hate," after Mamdani called him a war criminal who should be arrested if he comes to the city.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war from at least Oct. 8, 2023, until at least May 20, 2024.
Once the ICC issues an arrest warrant, it relies on its member countries to make arrests, as it doesn’t have its own police force, according to Reuters.
The US is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize its authority, which is part of why the warrant has not led to Netanyahu's arrest anywhere so far.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, made history in November 2025 when he became New York's first Muslim mayor and its youngest in more than a century.
He ran a campaign focused largely on affordability and solving working-class issues and said that if elected, he would have the city comply with the ICC warrant if Netanyahu ever visited.
Netanyahu is expected to travel to New York in September for the UN General Assembly.
On July 21, Mamdani said his administration had reviewed every legal option and concluded New York City does not have the "independent authority" to execute the warrant on its own.
He called Netanyahu "a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people," and said he was calling on the federal government to join the ICC and carry out the arrest instead.
US President Donald Trump responded on social media, saying Netanyahu "will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States."
On Sunday, July 26, Netanyahu responded to Mamdani’s statement during an interview on Fox News, saying that Mamdani was "fomenting hate" and trying to "turn one group against the other" and dismissed the ICC charges against him as "bogus."
Netanyahu is expected to meet Trump at the White House on Tuesday, July 28.
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Cherry Mohamed
Sofia Hou
