Netanyahu Accuses NYC Mayor of Spreading Hate Ahead of UN General Assembly

New York. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused New York City Mayor Eric Adams of trying to spread hatred in society. He also stated that his plan to visit New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly in the autumn of this year remains unchanged. In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said he was not concerned about the mayor's warning to arrest him. According to him, although the mayor should represent citizens of all communities, he is trying to create divisions between various communities.

Netanyahu also mentioned two recent stabbing incidents in New York, claiming that Jewish community members are currently living in fear. In these incidents, a suspect is accused of stabbing a Jewish person and a person of Asian descent a few blocks apart. Police stated that during the attack, the suspect was shouting 'Allahu Akbar'. Both victims are alive, and a hate crime case has been filed against the accused.

Mayor Adams' office has not yet responded to Netanyahu's accusations. Mayor Adams, considered a supporter of Palestinian rights, made the opposition to Israeli military action in Gaza a major agenda item during his election campaign last year. In a speech a few days ago, he called Netanyahu a 'war criminal'. During the election campaign, Adams pledged to implement the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2024. The court has accused Netanyahu of war crimes in Gaza.

Israel, however, has denied accusations of war crimes in Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu has called the International Criminal Court's accusations baseless. When asked by The New York Times last week about his commitment to implementing the arrest warrant, Mayor Adams stated that his administration had conducted a legal review and concluded that New York City does not have the independent authority to enforce the arrest warrant. He mentioned that the responsibility to arrest Netanyahu lies with the federal government and also stated that Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City.

This controversy comes against the backdrop of the Israel-Gaza war that began after Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023. Hamas's attack killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Since then, in the Israeli military operation in Gaza, more than 73,000 people have died, including more than 21,000 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The United Nations has also been citing these figures as generally credible.