A little more than a year ago, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
After the warrant was issued, then-New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani stated that he would abide by the warrant if the prime minister visited his city during his tenure.
Well, now Netanyahu is challenging Mamdani over that threat.
Not only did the ICC threaten to arrest Netanyahu, but it also issued a warrant for Israel's former defense minister, Yoav Gallant.
In all, 124 countries agreed to abide by the warrant, an fact that drew a rather scathing response from the prime minister.
Netanyahu’s office stated, “Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
It continued, “Israel utterly rejects the false and absurd charges of the international criminal court, a biased and discriminatory political body. It add that “no war is more just than the war Israel has been waging in Gaza.”
The United States has not recognized the order from the ICC, but Mandani, while campaigning for mayor, said he would respect the warrant if elected mayor and direct the police to arrest the PM if he came to New York on his watch.
He stated, “This is something that I intend to fulfill.”
Mamdani continued, “It is my desire to ensure that this be a city that stands up for international law.”
The comments drew a response from President Donald Trump, who told Mamdani he had “better behave -- otherwise, he’s going to have big problems.”
Netanyahu, who is now also facing corruption charges in his home country and hoping for a pardon, just stated that he is not afraid to come to New York City, even with Mamdani insisting that he would enforce the warrant.
When asked about visiting the city that will soon be governed by the socialist, Netanyahu responded, “I’ll come to New York. Yes, of course I will.”
I would love to see this happen just to test Mandani and see if he is willing to risk Trump's wrath, or to cause an international incident over a warrant from a court that the United States does not recognize.
As much as Mamdani and Trump were yucking it up during their White House visit, there is no way the president would ever tolerate Netanyahu's arrest. If Mamdani wants to see his lovefest with Trump come to a swift end, he should go ahead and pull the trigger on an arrest.
