Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed his intention to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York City this autumn, dismissing previous threats of arrest by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani recently backed down from his pledge to detain the Israeli leader, admitting that his office does not possess the legal jurisdiction to enforce a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Netanyahu said he was “not concerned” by the mayor’s earlier remarks and accused him of “fomenting hate”.
Netanyahu criticised the mayor’s approach, suggesting that rather than representing all New Yorkers, Mamdani was “trying to turn one group against the other”. To support his claim, the prime minister highlighted a recent incident involving the stabbing of a Jewish man and an Asian man in New York, where the suspect allegedly shouted “Allahu akbar”.
He added that such events have left the city’s Jewish community “afraid right now”.
Mamdani, a vocal advocate for Palestinian rights who centered his campaign on opposing the military operations in Gaza, had previously labelled the prime minister a “war criminal”.
He had originally promised to act upon the 2024 ICC warrant which accuses Netanyahu of war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
However, following a legal review by his administration, the mayor conceded, “We do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant”. He maintained that Netanyahu is “not welcome” in the city and called upon the US federal government to carry out the arrest.
Israel has consistently rejected the ICC’s allegations as “bogus”. The current conflict began following the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the taking of 251 hostages.
Since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose data is deemed reliable by the UN, more than 73,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including over 21,000 children.
