Mamdani: New York City will uphold ICC arrest warrants against Israel's PM Netanyahu

Zohran Mamdani, recently elected as New York City's next mayor, reiterated his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, hours after outgoing Mayor Eric Adams met with the Israeli leader and encouraged him to attend Mamdani's upcoming inauguration.

Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of using starvation as a method of warfare and committing crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution.

Speaking in a live appearance on ABC7, Mamdani said Adams' meeting with Netanyahu underscored what he views as a disconnect between the city's urgent concerns and symbolic foreign policy gestures, adding that New Yorkers "are desperate for an administration" focused on their immediate needs.

"New Yorkers are on the brink of being priced out of the city that they call home, and his actions have little to do with that affordability crisis," Mamdani said. "What they show, in fact, is why New Yorkers are so desperate for a new administration, one that will focus on the needs of the city and will look to speak to working-class New Yorkers as to what those needs are, as opposed to war criminals."

Mamdani, who made the same pledge last year, has repeatedly described Israel's military operation in Gaza as genocide.

"Being a city of international law means looking to uphold international law," he said. "That means upholding the warrants from the International Criminal Court, whether they're for Benjamin Netanyahu or Vladimir Putin."

Mamdani also reaffirmed his commitment to protecting and supporting New York's Jewish community. "It will be my responsibility that I will uphold to not only protect Jewish New Yorkers, but to celebrate and cherish them in the city," he added.

Adams will leave office on Jan. 1 following Mamdani's victory in the Nov. 4 mayoral election.

Mamdani, 34, is the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of the nation's largest city.