Netanyahu accuses Mamdani of ‘fomenting hate’, calls ICC war-crimes charges ‘bogus’

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is “fomenting hate” by calling the prime minister a war criminal who should be arrested over the war in Gaza if he visits the city for the United Nations General Assembly.

Netanyahu said he intends to be in New York in September to address the annual UN gathering of world leaders, despite the mayor’s suggestion that he is not welcome. Mamdani said last week that while New York City does not have legal authority to execute an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court – the world’s top war-crimes court – he encouraged the federal government to do so.

“He’s supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers – Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone,” Netanyahu said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. “But he’s trying to turn one group against the other.”

The prime minister has become an increasingly polarising figure over Israel’s war in Gaza, which was ignited by the October 7, 2023, deadly attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants. Israel also joined the US in starting the war against Iran on February 28 before launching a ground invasion in southern Lebanon in response to fire from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group.

Netanyahu on Sunday dismissed the ICC’s war crimes charges against him as “bogus”. He pointed to sexual misconduct allegations against the ICC’s top prosecutor, who was removed from that post on Friday, and said the warrant was an attempt to divert attention.

The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.