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.”
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. But he’s trying to turn one group against the other.
More than 73,000 people have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza, roughly half of them women and children, according to the Palestinian territory’s health ministry. Around 1,200 people, most of them civilians, were killed in the initial Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war.
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. He said, “He’s supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers, Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone.
He is scheduled to speak at the UN General Assembly on Thursday. I’m going to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers, and I’m going to tell the truth about you (Mamdani). Netanyahu did not hold back further. “Shame on you, Mr. “Shame on you for supporting the Hamas terrorist monsters who butchered our people. Shame on you for inciting riots against New York Jews.”
Responding in a brief video statement, Netanyahu said, “I’m coming to the UN. Mamdani,” he said.
