Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be visiting New York this month for a short trip amid calls for his arrest by mayor Zohran Mamdani. Netanyahu, who faces arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Gaza, will be in the United States to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
While the US and Israel are not members of the court and the New York does not have powers to execute an ICC warrant, Mamdani has sought the arrest of Netanyahu, whom he referred to as a “war criminal”.
Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon accused Mamdani of “doing politics”, claiming that it has become “very trendy to do politics by blaming Israel”.
Netanyahu’s New York short visit
Netanyahu is scheduled to reach New York late on September 23. He will address the UN General Assembly in the afternoon of September 24 and return to Israel that night.
Explaining the reason behind the short trip, Danon said the UNGA is being held during the Jewish holidays and ongoing election campaign back in Israel.
Netanyahu’s 2025 address at the UN General Assembly hall was met by a mass walkout by representatives of several countries.
Danon said such protests against Netanyahu would lead to “more chaos” on New York streets during the high-level meetings.
The Israeli envoy said, “I expect that there will be something like another show.” But the ambassador said Netanyahu is experienced, “and I’m sure he will deliver his speech despite those attempts.”
ICC Arrest warrant against Netanyahu
As Netanyahu is set to be in New York this month, there has been no remarks from Mamdani’s office on the scheduled visit so far. The New York mayor has earlier cited the arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court in November 2024. The warrant alleges that Netanyahu and another senior Israeli official were responsible for crimes against humanity in Gaza.
According to the ICC, there were reasonable grounds to suspect that Netanyahu had used “starvation as a weapon of warfare” by limiting the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and deliberately directing attacks against civilians during the conflict. Israel has rejected the allegations.
Although New York City officials lack the authority to enforce an ICC arrest warrant, Mamdani has called on the federal government to take action against Netanyahu.
Neither the United States nor Israel is a member of the ICC. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has targeted court personnel with sanctions as part of a broader effort to undermine and dismantle the international tribunal.
