Netanyahu slams Mamdani as Hamas backer, vows to 'expose' him as he heads to New York for UNGA

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Benjamin Netanyahu has 48 hours to go before his scheduled New York appearance, and the Israeli prime minister is already trading fire with the city’s mayor.

A day after Zohran Mamdani called Netanyahu a war criminal and backed honoring the International Criminal Court warrant against him, Netanyahu answered with a “Shame on you” video.

He said he was coming to the United Nations to tell “the truth” about Mamdani, turning a long-running political clash into a face-off that will unfold in the mayor’s own city.

Netanyahu raises stakes before UNGA

Netanyahu’s Tuesday video directly targeted Mamdani after the mayor’s CNN interview the previous day.

“Shame on you, Mr.Mamdani,” Netanyahu said, accusing him of supporting Hamas and “inciting riots against New York Jews.”

He said he would defend Israeli soldiers at the UN and tell the world “the truth about you.”

Netanyahu is scheduled to arrive Thursday morning, deliver his General Assembly address and leave New York shortly afterward. 

Protests are expected during his visit.

Mamdani refuses to back down

Mamdani told CNN on Monday, September 21, that he considers Netanyahu “a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people.”

He also renewed his position that the ICC warrant should be honored, arguing that no person should be above accountability when the international court has issued an arrest order.

The mayor’s comments came after his administration previously examined whether New York could enforce the warrant.

Mamdani later acknowledged that the city lacks independent legal authority to do so and called on the federal government to act instead.

An old feud reaches New York

The ICC warrant is what initially pushed the two men into direct confrontation, but their dispute has since become much broader.

Mamdani campaigned on a promise to pursue Netanyahu’s arrest if he entered New York.

After the city’s legal review, he abandoned the claim that City Hall could independently execute the warrant while continuing to say Netanyahu was not welcome.

President Donald Trump has separately said Netanyahu will not be arrested in the United States.

Netanyahu’s Likud party has also pulled Mamdani into Israel’s domestic political fight.

A September 17 campaign billboard placed the New York mayor alongside Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as figures it said wanted Netanyahu to lose.

Mamdani has condemned Netanyahu from City Hall, Netanyahu has promised to answer from the UN podium, and the two are now set to occupy the same city within days.