Benjamin Netanyahu threatened with arrest if he comes to the UN General Assembly in New York
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he is discussing the legal possibility of arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the UN General Assembly in September, a prospect that has provoked a strong reaction from Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, according to AFP, cited by Agerpres.
In an interview published Saturday by The New York Times, Mamdani said that in his opinion, 'Prime Minister Netanyahu's place is in The Hague,' citing the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The mayor clarified, however, that he does not know if he has the legal authority to order the arrest of a foreign leader and that he is having 'active discussions' with New York authorities to clarify this matter. 'Whatever the law allows me to do in New York is what we will do,' Mamdani said.
The UN General Assembly, which annually brings together leaders from around the world, is scheduled to take place in September at the organization's headquarters in New York.
Earlier, Mamdani had said he could ask the municipal police to enforce arrest warrants issued by the ICC against leaders sought by the court, including Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, immediately reacted, accusing the New York mayor of trying 'to fuel hostility and draw attention through attacks on the State of Israel.'
Danon stressed that these statements will not change the Israeli prime minister's plans. 'Benjamin Netanyahu will come to New York, will speak proudly before the UN General Assembly and will reaffirm before the world the truth about Israel and its unwavering right to defend its citizens,' he wrote on platform X.
For his part, the Israeli prime minister accused Zohran Mamdani, in an interview with a New York radio station, of supporting Hamas, stating: 'I think he essentially hates the United States.'
A member of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, Zohran Mamdani has repeatedly criticized Israel's policy, calling the Israeli state 'an apartheid regime' and describing the offensive in the Gaza Strip as 'a genocide.' At the same time, he has repeatedly spoken out against anti-Semitism.
The International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, has issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip, in the context of the Israeli offensive launched after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
