Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is heading to New York, despite months of political fireworks surrounding an International Criminal Court arrest warrant and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s declaration that the Israeli leader is not welcome in the city.
Netanyahu confirmed that he plans to attend the United Nations General Assembly in September, turning what might have been a routine diplomatic visit into a closely watched confrontation involving international law, American politics and New York’s deeply divided debate over the war in Gaza.
“First of all, I’m going to New York,” Netanyahu said during a Fox News interview. He added that he planned to “speak the truth” in front of the city’s “hate-spewing elected official,” a reference to Mamdani.
Netanyahu says Mamdani is dividing New Yorkers
Netanyahu did not treat Mamdani’s position as a symbolic political disagreement. He accused the mayor of creating hostility toward Israel and making Jewish residents feel increasingly uneasy.
“He’s pitting one group of New Yorkers against the others,” Netanyahu said. He also asked, “What are we, in the 1930s?” before accusing Mamdani of spreading “so much hate” and “so many lies.”
Those are serious allegations, but they remain Netanyahu’s characterization of Mamdani’s conduct. Mamdani has sharply criticized the Israeli government and Netanyahu personally, describing the prime minister as a war criminal because of the ICC case.
The mayor has said Netanyahu should face arrest if he enters the United States. However, after reviewing the city’s legal options, Mamdani acknowledged that New York City does not possess the independent authority required to carry out the international court’s warrant.
“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” Mamdani said in a video. He instead called on the federal government to join the ICC and act on the warrant. He also maintained that Netanyahu was “not welcome in New York City.”
That admission significantly changes the practical picture. Mamdani may continue protesting Netanyahu’s visit and criticizing his policies, but the mayor has publicly conceded that he cannot simply order the New York Police Department to arrest a visiting foreign leader under an ICC warrant.
The arrest warrant is real, but it is not a conviction
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on November 21, 2024. The judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe the two men bore criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity connected to the Gaza conflict.
The allegations include using starvation as a method of warfare, as well as murder, persecution and other inhumane acts. An arrest warrant is not a conviction, and the allegations have not been tested through a completed criminal trial.
Israel strongly rejects the accusations and disputes the ICC’s authority. Netanyahu has condemned the court as illegitimate and politically motivated, while Israeli officials argue that the country has the right to defend itself following the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023.
The United States is also not a member of the ICC. President Donald Trump has made the federal government’s position unusually clear, saying Netanyahu “will not be arrested” while visiting the United States.
That federal stance leaves little realistic possibility that Mamdani’s preferred outcome will occur during the September visit. It also places the mayor in direct conflict with the White House over who should be held accountable and which international institutions the United States should recognize.
September’s UN gathering now carries extra political weight
The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly is scheduled to open on September 8, 2026. Its high-level general debate is provisionally set for September 22 through September 26, with an additional session on September 28.
Netanyahu’s expected appearance will therefore unfold on one of the world’s biggest diplomatic stages, inside a city whose mayor has openly called for his detention.
Security around the visit will likely be intense. Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations have repeatedly accompanied major diplomatic events in New York, and Netanyahu’s dispute with Mamdani gives both sides another powerful rallying point.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon has also entered the confrontation. Responding to Mamdani, Danon accused the mayor of repeating Hamas propaganda and told him to concentrate on serving New Yorkers.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, appears determined to present the visit as an act of defiance. Mamdani appears equally determined to use his position to challenge the Israeli leader, even while admitting that City Hall cannot legally execute the warrant.
The result is a confrontation with more political heat than legal suspense. Netanyahu is almost certainly coming to New York. Mamdani cannot arrest him. But when the Israeli prime minister steps onto the United Nations stage, the battle over Gaza, the ICC and New York’s political id
