New York [US], July 28 (ANI): New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said that he was 'not interested in getting into a back-and-forth' with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after being asked about the Israeli leader's criticism of his past calls regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to Fox News.

Speaking during an unrelated press conference in Brooklyn on Monday (local time), Mamdani was asked to respond to Netanyahu's comments on Fox News, in which the Israeli prime minister reportedly accused him of 'fomenting hate' in the context of an Upper West Side attack being investigated as a suspected hate crime.

'I'm not interested in getting into a back-and-forth with Prime Minister Netanyahu,' Mamdani said.

'What I will say is that here in New York City, one of my top priorities is keeping Jewish New Yorkers safe, keeping every single New Yorker safe. And we know that while Jewish New Yorkers comprise a minority of all New Yorkers, they comprise a majority of the victims of all hate crimes, and it is unacceptable,' he added.

According to Fox News, Mamdani was also pressed on whether he had discussed his previous calls for the city to accept the jurisdiction of the ICC and arrest Netanyahu if he visited New York during conversations with US President Donald Trump.

'I've made my thoughts clear. I'll keep the conversation between the President and myself between him and myself,' Mamdani responded.

His remarks come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday discussed his plans to travel to New York in September to address the United Nations General Assembly, forcefully rejecting attempts by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to declare him unwelcome and calling out the mayor for allegedly promoting divisions and antisemitism.

'My answer to Mamdani, I will come to New York to fight for the truth of the Jewish people,' Netanyahu declared in an interview on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. 'I intend to come and speak the truth, speak for Israel and for the Israeli-American alliance from the podium of the United Nations.'

Netanyahu also asserted that the mayor's rhetoric creates a dangerous environment for Jewish residents in New York.

'He's fomenting hate. He's supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers: Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone. But he's trying to turn one group against the other, and he's foisting hate and fear,' Netanyahu warned. 'I speak to Jewish Americans in New York, and they're afraid right now.'

Connecting municipal political rhetoric directly to local violence, Netanyahu highlighted a recent attack outside a New York synagogue.

'I don't think it's accidental that after he made this hate speech against Israel and against me, the next day a Jew is stabbed coming out of a synagogue... with a cry of 'Allahu Akbar,'' Netanyahu said. 'So, I think that it's shameful. This thing is very bad for New York. I think it's very bad for peace.'

The Israeli PM's remarks came as New York Mayor Zohan Mamdani on Wednesday (local time) called on the US federal government to execute the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while reiterating that the Israeli leader is 'not welcome' in New York City.

The case reference was related to a man identified as Raul Morales, 51, who was charged with two counts of attempted murder in the second degree as a hate crime after two men were stabbed Thursday afternoon in broad daylight on Manhattan's Upper West Side. (ANI)