New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani renewed his criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a podcast interview released Thursday, saying he would support the United States joining the International Criminal Court (ICC) and enforcing its arrest warrants, including the warrant issued against Netanyahu in 2024 over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

“If I had my say, the US government would have joined the ICC, honored every single warrant that they've issued. I believe that the US government should join the ICC. It should enforce its warrants for everyone," Mamdani told Theo Von on “This Past Weekend."

He later said, “When you ask about the prime minister, we’re talking about the architect of a horrific genocide."

Mamdani was also asked about Netanyahu’s criticism of him during the prime minister’s address to the United Nations General Assembly last month. Netanyahu said that “Jews no longer feel safe" in New York under Mamdani and criticized the mayor over his characterization of Israel’s actions in Gaza, as well as social media activity by Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji.

“It was strange," Mamdani said of Netanyahu’s comments. “I was having a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands at the LGBTQ center in downtown Manhattan … and then I get back from that meeting, and it’s like, ‘Oh, by the way, here’s what he was saying at the UN.’"

He added, “All of this is an attempt to distract from responsibility - name as many people as possible, try and make it into a back-and-forth. It's not about me and him."

“It's about the fact that he's the architect of a genocide. And it's like, yeah, if I was the architect of a genocide, I would probably talk about anything but that," charged Mamdani.

During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani pledged to have the NYPD arrest Netanyahu if he visited New York and to enforce the ICC warrant. Following a review by his administration, he later acknowledged that the city does not have independent legal authority to carry out the warrant and called on the federal government to enforce it instead.

Mamdani has continued to describe Netanyahu in similar terms. In a recent interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, he said, “When it comes to Benjamin Netanyahu, I have described him as I believe him to be a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people."

His positions on Israel came under fire throughout his mayoral campaign, including comments he made on October 8, 2023, one day after Hamas’ attack in southern Israel, and his refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada."

After taking office, Mamdani revoked several Israel-related executive orders issued by former Mayor Eric Adams. He also became the first New York City mayor to boycott the city’s annual Israel Day Parade.

(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Simchat Torah and Shmini Atzeret in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)