Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu vows to visit New York despite Mamdani's repeated calls for his arrest

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear that he has no plans to cancel his attendance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September despite Mayor Zohran Mamdani's repeated calls for his arrest if he were to visit the Big Apple.

"I'm going to New York," Netanyahu said during an interview with "Hannity" following his White House meeting with President Donald Trump Tuesday.

"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."

Mamdani has long criticized Netanyahu over alleged atrocities committed by Israeli forces in military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon.

He recently called Netanyahu a "war criminal" and "the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people." Tens of thousands of Gazans were killed in the war.

While Mamdani acknowledged that city officials lack the legal authority to arrest him under the International Criminal Court's (ICC) warrant, the mayor urged federal officials to do so.Netanyahu, in turn, has accused Mamdani of fomenting hate and denounced his rhetoric, saying he is purposefully attempting to turn the people of New York against its Jewish population.