New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani hit back at Benjamin Netanyahu's criticism of him at the U.N. General Assembly Thursday, saying that "no lie" will alter the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister.
"As he has done time and again, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians," Mamdani said in a statement.
"Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity."
Ahead of Netanyahu's visit, Mamdani urged his arrest, saying the U.S. should honor a warrant for Netanyahu issued by the International Criminal Court in late 2024.
Israel's attacks killed more than 73,000 people in the Palestinian enclave since October 2023, mostly women and children. It displaced virtually the entire population and damaged or destroyed most of its buildings.
Inside the General Assembly, dozens of envoys from across the world walked out as Netanyahu began his speech.
New York City's first Muslim mayor has long been a vocal critic of Israel's military actions in Gaza and has called Netanyahu a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.
In November 2024, the ICC, based in The Hague, issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
This July, Mamdani urged U.S. federal authorities to enforce the ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu, acknowledging that New York City authorities lack the legal power to carry it out.
