Mayor Zohran Mamdani renewed his call for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be arrested for war crimes and accused him of visiting a “genocide” on Palestinians just days before the leader is to speak at the UN General Assembly.
“When it comes to Benjamin Netanyahu, I have described him as I believe him to be — a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people,” the mayor told CNN after a cordial meeting with President Trump at Gracie Mansion Monday.
“I do believe that that is something that should be honored, because what we want to see, and we’ve been talking about this today, is a faith in our politics, a faith in accountability,” Mamdani said.
“If the International Criminal Court deems someone worthy of an arrest because of a violation of those laws, then who are we to say that anyone should be above that? And I think very clearly that everyone should be held accountable to it,” Mamdani said.
The mayor’s remarks come amid his attempt to walk back his July statement urging protesters to take to the streets while Netanyahu is in town for the high-stakes UN meeting if he wasn’t arrested, a call to action he now claims he never made.
Mamdani has admitted he lacks the power to arrest Netanyahu himself as mayor of New York City despite his campaign pledges.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Denon told The Post Friday that the mayor is “clever” but can’t simply call for protests and the arrest of a world leader and then pretend it never happened.
“He’s very clever, but you cannot set the fire, then say this,” Danon said.
“The mayor has called for demonstrations. So we don’t know what to expect.”
