‘I’m going to New York’: Netanyahu defies NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s arrest threats, vows to address UN

Speaking Tuesday during an interview on Fox News' Hannity following a White House meeting with President Donald Trump, Netanyahu dismissed the mayor's rhetoric and made clear his travel plans would not change.

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"I'm going to New York," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader also took direct aim at Mamdani, accusing him of fostering division in the nation's largest city. "I'm going to speak the truth in front of this hate-spewing elected official who's pitting one group of New Yorkers against the others. He's turning them against New York Jews."

Netanyahu's comments come just days after Mamdani publicly acknowledged that New York City does not have the legal authority to arrest the Israeli prime minister, walking back a campaign pledge that drew national attention. He had promised to arrest the Israeli leader on a warrant from the International Criminal Court, which has no jurisdiction in the United States.

Last week, Mamdani said his administration had reviewed whether the city could execute the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Netanyahu, which many accused of being a sham, and concluded that it lacked the authority to do so. Instead, the mayor called on the federal government to carry out the warrant, despite President Donald Trump making clear that would not happen.

In a Truth Social post following Mamdani's remarks, Trump declared, "Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America," adding that the Israeli leader was "fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The renewed clash also comes less than a week after a Jewish man was stabbed outside a Manhattan synagogue following Tisha B'Av services by a suspect witnesses said shouted "Allahu Akbar." A second victim, an Asian man, was also attacked nearby, and prosecutors are pursuing hate crime charges in the case. The attack heightened concerns within New York's Jewish community over rising antisemitic violence amid increasingly antisemitic rhetoric from Mamdani surrounding the Israel-Hamas war.

Mamdani has long criticized Israel and Netanyahu. He recently called Netanyahu "a war criminal" and falsely claimed he was "the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people."

The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court, and foreign affairs, including the treatment of visiting heads of government, are handled by the federal government rather than municipal officials.

Netanyahu's comments came after meeting with Trump at the White House, where the two leaders discussed the wars in Gaza and the broader Middle East. During the interview, Netanyahu also dismissed the ICC's case against him as politically motivated and reiterated that he intends to address world leaders at the United Nations as scheduled.

The Israeli prime minister's decision to attend the annual UN General Assembly sets up another confrontation with Mamdani, who has emerged as one of the country's most outspoken anti-Israel activists.

The exchange marks the latest escalation in a feud that began during Mamdani's mayoral campaign, when he pledged that, if elected, he would have Netanyahu arrested should he visit New York. After taking office, and following Trump's public rebuke, the mayor acknowledged that New York City lacks the legal authority to enforce the ICC warrant, effectively abandoning that campaign promise while continuing to urge the federal government to take action.

Despite the controversy and calls for his arrest, Netanyahu said his plans remain unchanged.

"I'm going to New York," he said.

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