Netanyahu slams Zohran Mamdani over arrest threat

‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office responded on Sunday following New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s latest comments suggesting he is exploring ways to arrest the ‘Israeli’ leader during a potential visit to the city.

In a recent interview on The New York Times’ “The Interview” podcast, Mamdani said his administration’s legal department is actively reviewing the matter ahead of Netanyahu’s expected appearance at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani stated.

“He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court. And what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”

Mamdani, a democratic socialist and vocal critic of ‘Israel’s’ assault on Gaza, which he has described as “genocide,” emphasized he would act only within the bounds of the law.

“That’s an active conversation with our legal department,” he said.

“However, what we’ve seen at the national level is a desire sometimes to write your own laws, to go outside of the bounds of legality. That’s not something we have an interest in.” He first pledged during his campaign to direct the NYPD to arrest Netanyahu if he visited the city.

Netanyahu’s office fired back, accusing Mamdani of “attacking the leader of the Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East.”

The statement dismissed the ICC as a “kangaroo court” with “no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis” and labeled its arrest warrant against Netanyahu “bogus.”

It added that the warrant was issued by former ICC prosecutor Karim Khan shortly before sexual misconduct allegations against him surfaced, calling it a diversionary tactic.

Netanyahu’s Office defended ‘Israel’s’ assault on Gaza, stating that under Netanyahu’s leadership, Jerusalem has “taken unprecedented wartime measures to minimize harm to civilians while confronting Hamas,” which it claimed is a “genocidal terrorist organization that uses Palestinians as human shields.”

It urged Mamdani to “focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York” instead of supporting the ICC.

‘Israel’s’ UN Ambassador Danny Danon stated that Netanyahu “will come to New York, address the United Nations General Assembly with pride, and stand before the world to state Israel’s truth and its unwavering right to defend its citizens.”

Netanyahu himself has previously dismissed the threats as “silly” and reaffirmed plans to visit, telling interviewers to “wait and see.”

Legal experts widely view an arrest as highly improbable. The United States is not a party to the ICC, and federal laws protect foreign officials, including heads of state, while prohibiting local cooperation with the court. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and others have stated that the mayor lacks such authority.