Benjamin Netanyahu to make brief UN visit after New York mayor calls for his arrest

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make a brief 24-hour trip to address the UN General Assembly on September 24, 2026, amid controversy over New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's calls for his arrest. Mamdani urged the federal government to execute a November 2024 International Criminal Court warrant accusing Netanyahu of war crimes in Gaza. Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon dismissed the arrest calls as political theater and warned of protests and potential walkouts during Netanyahu's speech.

Netanyahu brief UN visit

• ▪Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to make a 24-hour trip to New York, arriving late on September 23, 2026, to address the United Nations General Assembly on the afternoon of September 24, 2026, before flying back to Israel that night.
• ▪Israel's United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon noted that the United Nations General Assembly meeting occurs during Jewish holidays and an active Israeli election campaign as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to retain his position.
• ▪Israel's United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must attend the United Nations General Assembly because there is no option following calls for Netanyahu's arrest.

ICC arrest warrant allegations

• ▪The United States and Israel are not members of the International Criminal Court, and the Donald Trump administration has imposed sanctions on the court's staffers in an effort to dismantle the tribunal.
• ▪The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November 2024, accusing Netanyahu and another Israeli official of crimes against humanity.
• ▪The International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleges that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used starvation as a weapon of warfare by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeting civilians in Gaza, charges that Israel denies.

New York mayoral controversy

• ▪New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal and urged Netanyahu's arrest, though Mamdani later withdrew the arrest call because New York City lacks the legal authority to take Netanyahu into custody.
• ▪New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani encouraged the United States federal government to execute the International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• ▪Israel's United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of doing politics and blaming Israel by calling for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's arrest.

Expected UN Assembly walkouts

• ▪Israel's United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon stated that protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would create chaos on New York streets during the high-level United Nations meetings scheduled for the week of September 22-28, 2026.
• ▪Israel's United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon stated that he expects protests and potential walkouts during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations General Assembly, similar to a mass walkout that occurred during Netanyahu's speech the previous year.

3 sources