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Benjamin Netanyahu has once again lashed out at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whom he accuses of “fomenting hatred” by suggesting that he would have the Israeli prime minister arrested if he attends the UN summit in New York in September. According to Netanyahu, he's not afraid of the threat and will attend the United Nations General Assembly as planned.
The tensions center on an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which Netanyahu of war crimes in Gaza. Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel’s conduct of the war, initially said last week that he had asked his legal team to determine whether the New York City Police Department could execute such a warrant. Later, he admitted that the city itself lacks independent legal authority to do so, but he did call on the federal government to intervene.
Netanyahu responds shrewdly
Netanyahu reacted sternly to the mayor’s remarks on Fox News on Sunday. “He's the mayor of all New Yorkers—Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone—but he is trying to pit one group against another,” the prime minister said. He also linked the discussion to recent stabbing incidents in Manhattan and stated that Jewish residents of New York currently feel unsafe. Mamdani, who strongly championed Palestinian rights during his campaign, calls Netanyahu a war criminal and has reiterated that the Israeli prime minister is “not welcome” in New York. Israel denies the allegations of war crimes in Gaza and calls the ICC charges baseless. The United States does not recognize the International Criminal Court and is not a party to the Rome Statute, which makes an arrest in New York legally highly uncertain.
The issue has further heightened political tensions in New York and beyond, prompting sharp reactions from Israeli and American officials. While Netanyahu is sticking to his plan to attend the UN summit, the confrontation with Mamdani appears to be evolving primarily into a battle over law, diplomacy, and political symbolism.
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