SerpApi.Org
July 22 (UPI) -- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called on the federal government Tuesday night to execute an international arrest warrant against "war criminal" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a man he called "the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people."
Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, is expected to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York City in September. Though the United States is not a member of the ICC, the Mamdani administration has been examining whether the city could legally arrest the Israeli leader.
In a recorded statement Tuesday night, Mamdani said that following the review it is clear that New York City lacks the independent legal authority to execute the arrest warrant, but that the Trump administration does.
"I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant," he said.
"And I want to be equally clear: Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large."A critic of the ICC and an ally of Netanyahu, President Donald Trump and his government are not expected to heed Mamdani's call, which the Israeli government Tuesday night also rejected.
"Mamdani should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York," Netanyahu's office said in a late Tuesday statement.
"Mamdani appears interested in diverting public attention from his follies and attacking the leader of the Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East."
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on allegations of war crimes of using starvation as a method of warfare and intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population as well as allegations of crimes against human allegations of murder, persecution and other inhuman acts in connection with Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu and his government have rejected the allegations.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Iran-backed Hamas launched a bloody surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people. Hamas and Hamas-aligned militants also kidnapped 251 people.
The next day, Israel launched a war against Hamas in Gaza that has since killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and injured nearly 175,000 more, according to U.N. statistics, while destroying much of the infrastructure and most of the buildings in the Palestinian enclave.
The full-scale war mostly came to a halt with an October 2025 cease-fire. By then, international support for Israel had waned substantially as the Palestinian death toll mounted and the destruction in Gaza deepened. A handful of world leaders have accused Netanyahu and his government of genocide, as have U.N. experts and several human rights organizations.
In his recorded statement, Mamdani said he held Netanyahu responsible for those killed, maimed and injured in Israel's offensive.
"There is a reason the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest," he said.
"Anyone with their eyes, with their heart, with their conscience, should recognize the devastation he has wrought and recognize that he belongs before a court of law."
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon chastised Mamdani online.
"Enough with the blood libels. Enough with the attacks on Jewish organizations," he said.
"You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas' propaganda. Do your Job!"
