Netanyahu Says He’ll Still Visit NYC Despite Mamdani’s Arrest Threat

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last night that he still plans to visit New York City, despite incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pledge to arrest him under an International Criminal Court warrant tied to the war in Gaza. Speaking virtually to The New York Times DealBook Summit, Netanyahu reaffirmed, “Yes, I’ll come to New York,” when pressed by Andrew Ross Sorkin, the New York Times journalist hosting the event,  on whether he would risk a trip once Mamdani takes office.

The arrest threat has drawn intense attention since Mamdani vowed during his campaign to direct the NYPD to enforce ICC warrants against wanted leaders, including Netanyahu. Netanyahu also used the conversation to address Israel’s war conduct, his political future, and broader regional diplomacy.

Mamdani, who will become the city’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor on January 1, has repeatedly said he would honor the ICC’s decisions. The Hague-based court alleges Netanyahu bears responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza campaign following Hamas’s October 7 massacre. Israel rejects the charges outright. Mamdani has also said he supports Israel’s right to exist but has refused to say it should exist specifically as a Jewish state, arguing that no country should have a “hierarchy of citizenship” based on religion. 

Asked whether he would meet with Mamdani during a future visit, Netanyahu replied, “If he changes his mind and says that we have the right to exist, that’ll be a good opening for a conversation.” When Sorkin asked him on whether he was “testing” Mamdani’s threat, Netanyahu said only, “Why don’t you wait and see? Yes, I’ll come to New York.”

Netanyahu strongly rejected the ICC accusations, insisting Israel has taken unprecedented steps to protect civilians. “No army has done what Israel has done to try to get civilians out of harm’s way, and Hamas has done everything in its power to keep civilians in harm’s way,” he said. He claimed the charges stem from a “propaganda effect,” adding that Hamas “shoots civilians who try to leave” combat zones to boost casualties. “I think Churchill would have been accused of stupendous war crimes,” he continued. “We don’t carpet bomb… We send our soldiers, some of whom die, trying to clear out these booby traps that Hamas has put in.”

On his age and political future, the 76-year-old prime minister brushed off questions about retirement. “I don’t measure it by time,” he said. “I measure it by missions, by tasks.” He insisted he enjoys strong public backing. “I’m supported by a great majority of the people in the country,” he said. “You’d never know that by the foreign reporting, but that’s the truth.”

Netanyahu outlined two priorities for the coming years: advancing artificial intelligence and pursuing what he called a “broader peace” with Arab and Islamic states. He said normalization with Saudi Arabia remains possible, despite Riyadh’s stated insistence on movement toward Palestinian statehood.

Netanyahu also addressed his corruption trial, calling the charges “bogus” and saying prosecutors are trying to remove him from office. “They kept on going because they don’t want justice. They want me out of office,” he said. He added that the case has “collapsed” and “become a joke.”