Mamdani Calls Netanyahu "Genocide Architect", Then A "Hamas Supporter" Reply

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a sharp attack on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of supporting Hamas. The exchange marks the latest escalation in a running war of words between the two leaders, days before Netanyahu is due to address the UN General Assembly.

Netanyahu's comments came in response to remarks Mamdani made to CNN on Monday, in which he described the Israeli prime minister as a "war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people."

Responding in a brief video statement, Netanyahu said, "I'm coming to the UN. I'm going to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers, and I'm going to tell the truth about you (Mamdani)." He is scheduled to speak at the UN General Assembly on Thursday.

Netanyahu did not hold back further. "Shame on you, Mr. Mamdani," he said. "Shame on you for supporting the Hamas terrorist monsters who butchered our people. Shame on you for inciting riots against New York Jews."

Mamdani had previously said he would arrest Netanyahu if he entered New York, although he acknowledged he did not actually have the power to do so. Some Republican opponents have called Mamdani antisemitic, pointing to his pro-Palestinian advocacy and his criticism of Israel's military action in Gaza. Mamdani has rejected this characterisation, saying he has condemned antisemitism and that his criticism of Israeli government policy is wrongly conflated with hatred of Jewish people.

This is not the first time Netanyahu has targeted Mamdani. In a Fox News interview in July, the Israeli prime minister accused the New York mayor of "fomenting hate." He said, "He's supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers, Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone. But he's trying to turn one group against the other."

The clash comes against the backdrop of an ongoing case at the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has charged Netanyahu with war crimes, an accusation he dismisses as "bogus". The Hague-based court has accused Netanyahu, his former defence minister and the late Hamas leader of crimes against humanity.

According to the Palestinian territory's health ministry, more than 73,000 people have been killed in Israel's offensive in Gaza, roughly half of them women and children. Around 1,200 people, most of them civilians, were killed in the initial Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war.

The United States is not a member of the ICC. It signed the treaty that established the court, known as the Rome Statute, in 2000, but never submitted it to the Senate for ratification, and the US formally withdrew its support for the treaty in 2002. As a non-member state, the US is not bound by the court's rulings or obligated to act on its arrest warrants.

President Donald Trump has shown little regard for the ICC's case against Netanyahu, and has previously taken action against the court itself, including sanctions targeting ICC officials over its investigations into Israeli conduct. On Tuesday, during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Trump urged members of the International Criminal Court to resign and condemned what he called an "out-of-control institution" and "an evil group of people."

"I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately," he said.