Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar reportedly "laughed off" incoming New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's threat to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he "set foot in New York" in a Monday interview with The New York Post.
Sa'ar told The New York Post that the matter hadn't even been a "consideration when setting Netanyahu’s travel plans."
"I don’t want to enter into a legal debate with the elected mayor of New York,” The New York Post quoted Sa'ar as saying, “But I will only say or repeat what the prime minister had said himself, he will come to New York."
Despite Mamdani's outspoken criticism of Israel, The New York Post said that Sa'ar hoped for "constructive dialogue" in the future, even if he remains "skeptical about it."
Sa'ar slams Hamas's refusal to disarm in accordance with Gaza peace deal
Sa'ar also slammed Hamas's refusal to disarm and lay down its weapons in accordance with the US-backed Gaza peace deal, according to The New York Post.
"I believe that if you read the statement that was given publicly this weekend, it doesn’t demonstrate that [you are] really committed to the peace plan and what it requires from them in the next stage,” Sa’ar explained in the interview.
"We will give a fair chance to see whether we can get Hamas to disarm and Gaza de-militarization in the context of the plan,” Sa’ar told The New York Post. “If not, we will have to do it ourselves.”