Netanyahu doubles down on visiting New York, despite Mamdani's calls for his arrest

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he plans to head to New York for the UN General Assembly this September, despite the city's mayor Zohran Mamdani's calls to enforce an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.

Netanyahu asserted to Fox News that he is going to the city, saying: "I'm definitely going there. I'm going to speak the truth in front of this hate-spewing elected official."

The Israeli premier accused Mamdani of "pitting one group of New Yorkers against the others" and going after the city's Jewish residents.

Last week, Mamdani has described Netanyahu as a "war criminal", and urged that the US government enforce the ICC arrest warrant against him if he enters the country.

"There is a reason the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest," he said in a video message posted on X at the time. "Anyone with their eyes, with their heart, with their conscience, should recognise the devastation he has wrought and understand that he belongs before a court of law."