Netanyahu and Mamdani openly trade accusations ahead of Israeli prime minister’s UN speech

Benjamin Netanyahu has sharply responded to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, warning that he will expose his ties to Hamas.

The Israeli prime minister stated that it is a disgrace that Mamdani supports what he called “the terrorist monsters of Hamas,” who massacred his people, and that he is inciting riots against the Jews of New York. He added that he is coming to the UN to tell the truth about the heroic Israeli soldiers and about the mayor himself.

This marked the first public strike by the Israeli prime minister, who is expected to travel to the United States on Thursday to address the UN General Assembly and to personally resolve a clash that began during Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. During that period, he had said he would ask the Police Department to arrest Netanyahu as a war criminal if the latter set foot in New York. Mamdani also responded to Netanyahu’s latest video message.

In response, Mamdani said that what the prime minister said in that video is not true. He emphasized that there is an arrest warrant against Netanyahu from the International Criminal Court for suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity, and added that, as prime minister, Netanyahu is the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinians. He also recalled that just a few days ago, the Israeli army killed an 11-year-old boy in what is considered a safe zone in Gaza.

Although for months he has insisted on the idea of arresting Netanyahu if he comes to New York, Mamdani has recently admitted that he does not have the authority to do so.