Play store
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly as a repetition of “baseless lies”, saying the remarks were aimed at justifying or concealing Israel’s actions against Palestinians.
In a statement on Thursday, Mamdani said Netanyahu had once again repeated what he called “baseless lies” in an attempt to “sanitize his genocide of Palestinians”.
“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,” Mamdani said.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on November 21, 2024, over alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Gaza. The court also issued a warrant for former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
Ahead of Netanyahu’s visit to New York, Mamdani had called for the enforcement of the ICC warrant against the Israeli prime minister. In July, he urged US federal authorities to act on the warrant while acknowledging that New York City authorities do not have the legal authority to enforce it.
Netanyahu used his UN address on Thursday to defend Israel’s actions and criticised Mamdani, calling him “antisemitic” and accusing him of spreading false claims about Israel. Netanyahu has rejected allegations of war crimes and genocide.
Mamdani’s remarks came amid protests in New York surrounding Netanyahu’s UN visit, with more than 100 demonstrators arrested during separate rallies on Thursday.
