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Israeli Politics25 September, 20262 min read

Netanyahu Berates Zohran Mamdani at UN as Mamdani Defends ICC Arrest Warrant

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Netanyahu accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas and inciting riots against Jews. Mamdani called Netanyahu a war criminal and architect of genocide.

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Netanyahu Berates Zohran Mamdani at UN as Mamdani Defends ICC Arrest Warrant
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Netanyahu vs Mamdani

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his Thursday address to the 193-member General Assembly of the United Nations to berate New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after describing him as a “war criminal” over Israel’s actions in Gaza. Netanyahu told the General Assembly, “If there are any other moral cowards who have not yet left this hall, please do so now,” as delegations walked out and taunts rose from outside the chamber.

Zohran Mamdani responded by stressing that Netanyahu’s statements would not change the fate of the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court, and Mamdani said Netanyahu “exploited the UN podium” to repeat “groundless claims.” Mamdani also framed the dispute as part of a wider confrontation over the ICC warrants, with the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I issuing an arrest warrant on November 21, 2024 for Netanyahu and for his former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

Image from Aajil
Image: Aajil
Reporting for this sectionABC7 New Yorkİlke Haber Ajansı

Walkouts, protests, arrests

New York police arrested dozens of protesters in front of the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan during Netanyahu’s visit, as the demonstration demanded an end to the war in Gaza and protested Netanyahu’s visit while he was delivering his speech to remaining attendees. The protest included chants such as “Stop the bombing, stop the killing” and “Let Gaza live,” and organizers said about 100 people were arrested during the demonstration.

Netanyahu’s speech also triggered a verbal clash with Mamdani, and Mamdani dismissed Netanyahu’s remarks as “baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians.” Netanyahu, in turn, accused Mamdani of using the UN podium to “repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians,” while Mamdani said “Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.”

Image from ABC
Image: ABC
Reporting for this sectionAl-Jazira NetNPR

ICC, US pressure, elections

The ICC’s warrants at the center of the confrontation were issued by Pre-Trial Chamber I on November 21, 2024, with the court saying there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity alleged to have occurred from October 8, 2023, to May 20, 2024.

İlke Haber Ajansı said Mamdani’s remarks coincided with reports of new moves by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to pressure the ICC, including a Reuters account that the Trump administration is preparing to impose sanctions that could target the court more broadly.

Reuters reported that Netanyahu’s UN speech came as he faced legislative elections on Oct. 27, and CBS News quoted Yaakov Katz saying Netanyahu’s address was planned to counter a trend of Israelis seeing “People look at the hostility and they say, 'Oh, Netanyahu is not popular.'”

Reuters also described the political contrast around Mamdani, noting that Trump met with Mamdani at Gracie Mansion and said, “I want him to be a great mayor, and he certainly has the potential, indeed great potential.”

Reporting for this sectionİlke Haber AjansıReuters