Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed today that he will travel to New York in September, despite recent threats from the American city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who has called for the Israeli leader’s arrest.
“First of all, I will go to New York. I’m going to tell the truth to this politician who spreads hatred,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News, referring to Mamdani’s harsh criticism of him.
On this point, he lamented that the mayor is pitting one group of New Yorkers against another. “He’s turning them against the Jews of New York… what are we doing, going back to the 1930s? So much hatred. So many lies,” warned the head of the Israeli government, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity over his role in ordering the Israeli military’s offensive against the Gaza Strip.
Hours later, in a video posted to his personal social media account, Netanyahu reiterated his intention to visit the American city, going so far as to link Mamdani to an alleged knife attack against a Jewish citizen.
Read more about this topic: Mamdani calls Netanyahu “war criminal”; wants to arrest him in New York. Trump has already ruled it out (with videos)
“He is fomenting hatred and fear. I speak with American Jews in New York, and right now they are afraid. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, after he gave this hateful speech against Israel and against me, the very next day a Jew was stabbed leaving a city,” he stated.
Netanyahu again accused Mamdani of celebrating the attack carried out by the Islamist movement Hamas against Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and took roughly 250 hostages, extending the accusation to Mamdani’s wife and family as well.
“I think this is part of the antisemitic rhetoric that incites hatred and is spreading across many circles in the United States. But the worst part is that he’s tormenting his own citizens, his own voters. This is wrong… No one is going to stop me from fighting for the truth about Israel,” he insisted.
As in previous years, Netanyahu will participate in September’s UN General Assembly, according to confirmation from Israel’s ambassador to the organization, Danny Danon.
Read more about this topic: NYC Mayor Mamdani “lacks authority” to arrest Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu (with video)
Mamdani announced just over a week ago that he was examining the possibility of ordering Netanyahu’s arrest, should the Israeli leader appear at the UN in September.
“I believe that Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu should be in The Hague [seat of the ICC]. He is a war criminal subject to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court,” Zohran Mamdani told The New York Times.
However, the mayor indicated he was uncertain whether he has the authority to arrest a foreign leader like Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he was maintaining active discussions with New York authorities on the matter. “Whatever the law allows me to do in New York is what we will do,” he added.
The mayor had previously promised to send police to execute arrest warrants against leaders wanted by the ICC, also including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
