Netanyahu Defies ICC Warrant With Vow to Address UN in New York This Fall

A Defiant Declaration

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared he will speak at the United Nations in New York City, defying an International Criminal Court arrest warrant and comments from Mayor Zohran Mamdani that he is not welcome in the city. The announcement, made during a weekend television interview, sets the stage for a dramatic diplomatic and legal clash when the UN General Assembly convenes this September.

Netanyahu made the remarks during an appearance on Fox News, pushing back against Mamdani and other critics. "I intend to come and speak the truth – speak for Israel and for the Israeli-American alliance from the podium of the United Nations," he said. The declaration was bold, given the legal cloud hanging over his head — one that has complicated his international travel for nearly two years.

The Warrant and the Fallout

Netanyahu is the target of a November 2024 arrest warrant issued by the ICC alleging he is "responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population" in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. The court also issued a warrant for former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant at the same time.

Netanyahu has consistently dismissed the charges. He went further this week by attacking the credibility of former ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who was removed from his post. According to Netanyahu, Khan believed that pursuing an indictment against Israeli leaders would allow him to remain in office. "He thought, 'How do I divert attention from my criminal acts to something that will protect me?'" Netanyahu said, adding that Khan "lost his position because he was removed by an overwhelming majority of countries that realized he was a fraud."

Mamdani's Reversal and the Limits of City Power

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani walked back a campaign promise after admitting the city lacks authority to arrest Netanyahu if he visits NYC. It was a significant reversal. The remarks marked a reversal from Mamdani's 2025 campaign pledge that New York City would arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister came to New York.

Mamdani said his administration reviewed every avenue available under applicable law and concluded: "It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant. The federal government, however, does, and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant." He also made his personal position clear: "Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large."

President Trump, for his part, posted on Truth Social that "Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America," citing Israel's role in the conflict with Iran. That federal shield effectively makes any enforcement of the ICC warrant on American soil a non-starter for now.

A Shifting Public Mood

A YouGov poll published this week found that 46 percent of people in the US believe Netanyahu should be arrested, while 28 percent said he should not be. That gap reflects a broader trend. Despite a deluge of attacks on Mamdani over his support for Palestine, a recent AP-NORC poll found that Jewish adults in the US have a more favorable view of the mayor than they do of Netanyahu himself, and that 30 percent believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.

Netanyahu falsely claimed in his interview that Mamdani and his wife had "celebrated" the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,100 people. The claim drew immediate pushback. With September's UN General Assembly approaching, the confrontation between the Israeli prime minister and New York's outspoken new mayor is far from over — and the question of whether international law can reach the world's most powerful nation remains as unresolved as ever.