Netanyahu lashes out after Zohran Mamdani says he could be arrested in New York [Getty]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at Zohran Mamdani after the New York City Mayor said he was still exploring ways to arrest the premier if he visits New York.
Netanyahu’s office accused Mamdani of making the remarks to distract from his “policy failings”, while dismissing the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister in 2024 over war crimes committed in Gaza, as a “kangaroo court”.
In the statement, the office claimed the ICC had “no jurisdiction over Americans and Israelis” and described the warrant as a “bogus arrest warrant”.
It also alleged that the warrant had been issued by former ICC prosecutor Karim Khan “a few days before allegations of sexual misconduct against him became public”, claiming it was “a clear attempt by Khan to divert public attention and seek protection from scrutiny”.
The statement concluded: “Instead of backing Khan’s criminal behaviour, Mr. Mamdani should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York.”
Khan was cleared of wrongdoing by a panel of judges appointed to investigate a UN probe into the sexual misconduct allegations in March.
The response came after Mamdani told The New York Times on Saturday that he would call on the New York Police Department to enforce arrest warrants against any leader wanted by the ICC, including Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end,” he said, adding there was “an active conversation with our legal department” over the extent of the city’s legal powers.
The mayor also said Netanyahu belonged in The Hague and that “he’s a war criminal”.
Mamdani has previously vowed to pursue Netanyahu’s arrest based on the ICC’s decision, which found there were reasonable grounds to believe the Israeli leader bore responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, including starvation as a method of warfare, murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.
Questions remain over whether the ICC’s warrants can be enforced in the United States, where federal law limits cooperation with the court. In February 2025, US President Donald Trump imposed economic sanctions on the ICC, arguing it lacked jurisdiction over the US and Israel, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he wanted to “dismantle the court”.
