Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office launched a broadside against the International Criminal Court and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Sunday after Mamdani said he was examining whether Netanyahu could be arrested during a planned visit to the city in September.
“The ICC is a kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Karim Khan, former ICC prosecutor; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani
(Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun, AP Photo/Seth Wenig, AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
The statement dismissed the warrant against Netanyahu as illegitimate and accused former ICC prosecutor Karim Khan of pursuing it to shield himself from scrutiny.
“Its bogus arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu was issued by a disgraced former ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, a few days before allegations of sexual misconduct against him became public,” the statement said.
“It was a clear attempt by Khan to divert public attention and seek protection from scrutiny.”
The PMO also defended Israel’s conduct in the war against Hamas, saying the government had taken extensive steps to reduce civilian harm.
“Under Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leadership, Israel has taken unprecedented wartime measures to minimize harm to civilians while confronting Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that uses Palestinians as human shields and deliberately targets innocent Israeli civilians,” it said.
The statement then accused Mamdani of exploiting the issue for political cover.
“Instead of backing Khan’s criminal behavior, Mr. Mamdani should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York,” it said.
“Like Karim Khan, Mamdani appears interested in diverting public attention from his follies and attacking the leader of the Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East.”
Mamdani told The New York Times that he remained interested in having Netanyahu detained if the prime minister travels to New York for the UN General Assembly.
He acknowledged, however, that it was unclear whether he had the legal power to direct the New York Police Department to hold a foreign leader.
Mamdani said the issue was under active discussion with the city’s Law Department.
“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end,” he said.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He is a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court. That is an opinion many people hold, simply because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”
The allegations against Khan surfaced in 2024 after two women who had worked with him accused him of sexual misconduct.
One of them, identified by CNN only as Sarah, spoke publicly about the allegations last week. The Malaysian Muslim woman rejected claims that she had acted on Israel’s behalf to damage Khan’s credibility or undermine the warrants.
Sarah, who began working as Khan’s assistant in February 2023, described what she said was a gradual escalation in his conduct.
“There is no other way for me to describe it except as an escalation of sexual advances,” she said. “The groping, the physical nature of it, but it did not start that way. It was a kind of slow invasion of boundaries, not only physically but emotionally as well.”
She alleged that Khan later came to her hotel room late at night and, in one instance, pressured her to join him for a “nap” before putting his hands under her leggings.
A second woman, identified as Patricia, also accused Khan of sexual misconduct.
Patricia said she worked as an unpaid intern on Khan’s team in 2009, when she was in her 20s, and was asked to work from his home.
She alleged that Khan repeatedly tried to touch and kiss her and described one incident in which he stood behind her and touched her breasts, leaving her frozen and unable to stop him.
The ICC’s oversight body suspended Khan last month pending the outcome of proceedings against him. The court’s 125 member states are due to vote on his future on July 24, including the possibility of permanently removing him from office.