NEW YORK CITY (VINnews)-Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday defended current Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s characterization of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a war criminal, telling Fox News anchors he “absolutely” holds that view because of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Appearing on “America’s Newsroom,” de Blasio said Mamdani “drew attention to the fact that Netanyahu is literally a war criminal.”

“This guy’s policies led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian children, and that defines a war crime to me and so many people around the world,” de Blasio said.

The exchange quickly grew heated. Co-anchor Dana Perino challenged de Blasio’s authority to make the designation and noted that the United States is not a party to the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes related to the Gaza conflict. De Blasio responded that the court “should mean something.”

Perino pressed him on whether Israel’s actions were a response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took more than 250 hostages. De Blasio called the attack “horrible” but argued Israel’s response was disproportionate.

“You think if Hamas does something wrong, it means Netanyahu and Israel can do something worse?” he asked. “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Co-anchor Bill Hemmer then interjected: “So you came on our show today to call Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal?”

“I didn’t come here to call him that. You asked me a question,” de Blasio replied.

“Do you, and you believe that to be the case?” Hemmer asked.

“I absolutely believe that,” de Blasio said.

Hemmer rejected the characterization, saying that if genocide were occurring, the population of Gaza would have been wiped out.

The comments came days after Mamdani, a democratic socialist, released a video labeling Netanyahu a “war criminal” and “the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.” Mamdani initially suggested New York City would seek to enforce an International Criminal Court warrant against the Israeli leader if he visited the city for the United Nations General Assembly. He later acknowledged that the city lacks independent legal authority to do so and urged the federal government to act instead, while stating Netanyahu is “not welcome in New York City.”

Israel and the United States have rejected the ICC warrant. Israel maintains its military operations in Gaza target Hamas militants responsible for the Oct. 7 massacre and that it takes steps to minimize civilian casualties amid Hamas’s practice of embedding among civilian populations.

De Blasio served as New York City mayor from 2014 to 2021.