LONDON: The party of Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu has put up an election billboard stating that Israel’s enemies include New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the leaders of Iran and Hezbollah.
The giant Likud billboard in Tel Aviv for the October election shows images of the four men with the slogan: “They want Netanyahu to lose. Do not let them win.”
Netanyahu posted an image of the signage on his X account on Sunday.
While Mamdani and Erdogan have been staunchly critical of Netanyahu and Israel’s war on Gaza, grouping them with the Iranian leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, and Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem will be viewed as highly provocative.
Netanyahu has led Israel to war with both Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the country and militant group are viewed as mortal enemies of the country.
Mamdani, who became New York mayor at the start of the year, has called for Netanyahu to be arrested if he visits the city for the UN General Assembly next month.
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister on charges of war crimes over the Gaza conflict.
“Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large,” Mamdani said last week.
Netanyahu hit back, accusing Mamdani of “fomenting hate.”
Relations between Turkiye and Israel deteriorated sharply after the start of the Gaza war.
Erdogan has been one of the most vocal critics on the international stage of Israel’s conduct in the conflict, accusing the country of committing genocide.
Netanyahu is once again fighting for his political survival ahead of the Oct. 27 election with polls suggesting strong support for opposition parties.
The Israeli leader last week provoked anger from one of the country’s key allies, the UK, when he said Britain has become an “Islamic republic.”
