For New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Benjamin Netanyahu’s expected upcoming trip to the Big Apple is fueling his long-held desire to arrest the Israeli prime minister.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, however, was quick to disabuse the anti-Israel socialist of such a notion.
As the New York Post reported:
“Mayor Mamdani. Here’s why your threat to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu’s in New York City during UN General Assembly is not going to happen,” the US envoy stated.
ADVERTISEMENT“The United States is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the International Criminal Court. The UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of government. Head-of-state immunity applies, and federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes.”
The General Assembly is scheduled for early September.
Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations in New York, said that “if anyone should be arrested, it is New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.”
“Mamdani is failing to govern New York. Instead of focusing on his responsibilities as mayor and confronting the rising wave of antisemitism in his city, he has chosen to incite hostility and generate headlines by attacking the State of Israel,” Danon stated.
Mayor Mamdani: here’s why your threat to arrest PM Netanyahu’s in NYC during UNGA is not going to happen:
1. The U.S. is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC,
2. The UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of gov’t,
3.…— Ambassador Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) July 18, 2026
Mamdani’s rhetoric has fueled some social media backlash, too:
Mamdani is completely out of his league and out of his mind. His hatred of Israel, Jews and the prime minister of Israel knows no boundaries. He’s a despicable human.
— Jay Lipman (@jay_lipman) July 19, 2026
Laugh out aloud, as they say.
Someone should actually arrest this dollar store Mussolini before he gets anywhere near taking socialism to its inevitable catastrophe for New York.
— Wee McPhee’s Bog (@OoQC5wYc) July 18, 2026
CNN added this:
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said. “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court. And what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”
Asked what he believed the law allowed him to do, Mamdani responded: “That’s an active conversation with our legal department. However, what we’ve seen at the national level is a desire sometimes to write your own laws, to go outside of the bounds of legality. That’s not something we have an interest in.”
Later in the same article:
Speaking to WABC radio host Sid Rosenberg earlier in the week, Netanyahu dismissed concerns about Mamdani’s calls for his arrest.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said on social media Saturday that Netanyahu “will come to New York, address the United Nations General Assembly with pride, and stand before the world to state Israel’s truth and its unwavering right to defend its citizens.”
Here’s a clip of the mayor’s comments:
WATCH: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he is in "an active conversation" with the city's Law Department about whether he has the authority to order the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York for the U.N. General Assembly.
"I believe that Prime… pic.twitter.com/GZJAfbvWGU
— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 18, 2026
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