Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed his plans to attend the UN General Assembly in New York City this autumn, dismissing previous arrest threats made by the city's mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Netanyahu accused Mamdani of "fomenting hate" following the mayor's recent acknowledgment that he lacks the legal authority to execute an international arrest warrant.
Mamdani, a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights who called Netanyahu a "war criminal" last week, made his opposition to Israel's military operations in Gaza a core element of his campaign last year. He had promised to enforce a 2024 arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which accused Netanyahu of committing war crimes. However, after being pressed by the New York Times, Mamdani walked back the threat, acknowledging that his administration reviewed the law and found they "do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant." Despite this, Mamdani urged the federal government to arrest the prime minister, declaring that "Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City."
Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Netanyahu said he was "not concerned" about the previous threats and leveled sharp criticism at the mayor. "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," Netanyahu said. The mayor's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the statements.
To highlight his concerns, Netanyahu referenced a pair of stabbings that occurred in New York on Thursday, where a suspect allegedly shouted "Allahu akbar" while attacking a Jewish man and an Asian man just blocks apart. The suspect has been charged with hate crimes for both attacks, which both victims survived. In the wake of these incidents, which drew strong condemnation from Jewish and Asian American leaders in the city, Netanyahu remarked that Jewish New Yorkers are "afraid right now."
Israel has consistently denied any allegations of war crimes in Gaza, with Netanyahu describing the ICC charges as "bogus." The ongoing military campaign began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the taking of 251 hostages. Since then, over 73,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, including more than 21,000 children, according to figures from the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, which are considered reliable by the United Nations.
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