Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he, “of course,” would visit New York City, despite Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s threat to have him arrested, during an interview at the New York Times DealBook Summit on Wednesday.
“Would you come to New York, given what the mayor has said about arresting you?” NYT columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin asked Netanyahu, adding that he has long wanted to conduct an in-person interview with the Israeli Prime Minister.
“Yes, of course I will,” Netanyahu, who joined the conversation remotely via satellite video stream from Israel, answered.
When asked if Netanyahu was willing to test whether or not Mamdani would follow through on the arrest threat, Netanyahu suggested Sorkin “wait and see,” restating that he “will come to New York.”
Netanyahu also stated that if Mamdani “changes his mind and says that [Israel] has the right to exist,” he would be willing to have a conversation with the mayor-elect, who is set to take office on January 1, 2026.
Netanyahu also addressed the war crimes accusations and the ICC warrant.
“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," Netanyahu said, elaborating that the accusations are due to a "propaganda effect” caused by “Hamas [shooting] civilians who try to leave [combat zones] in order to boost casualties.”
"I think Churchill would have been accused of stupendous war crimes," he continued. "We don't carpet bomb, we don't do Dresden, we don't do any of that. We send our soldiers, some of whom die, trying to clear out these booby traps that Hamas has put in."
Mamdani's arrest threats
In a September NYT interview, Mamdani said he would seek to have Netanyahu arrested, citing an International Criminal Court warrant.
Subsequently, US President Donald Trump, who spearheaded the Israel-Gaza peace deal that resulted in the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, decried Mamdani’s assertion as “inappropriate." Trump also stated that he would interfere in the arrest should Mamdani attempt to follow through on the threat.
In November, Trump and Mandani met for the first time. After the meeting, when asked whether the two had discussed the issue, Trump stated they had not.