Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Dec 4: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday asserted that he would go ahead with his planned visit to New York, brushing aside remarks by incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has vowed to enforce an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.

“Yes, I’ll come to New York,” Netanyahu affirmed during a virtual interaction at the New York Times’ DealBook forum. When asked if he intended to communicate with Mamdani, he said, “If he changes his mind and says that we have the right to exist, that’ll be a good opening for a conversation.”

Mamdani — set to become New York’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor — has maintained that he supports Israel’s right to exist, but has questioned its identity as a Jewish state, stating no nation should uphold a “hierarchy of citizenship” based on religion or other markers.

The mayor-elect has vowed to direct the New York Police Department to act on ICC warrants against leaders accused of war crimes, including Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Last year, the ICC announced that it had reasonable grounds to believe the Israeli leader was responsible for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to Israel’s massive offensive in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. The allegations have been strongly rejected by Israel.

However, legal experts believe the likelihood of an arrest is slim. The authority of a mayor to enforce international warrants remains highly debatable, with such matters typically handled by the federal government.

The United States — which, like Israel and Russia, is not a member of the ICC — has historically defended Israel diplomatically. Under former President Donald Trump, sanctions were even imposed on ICC officials over similar actions.

New York, home to the world’s largest Jewish community outside Israel and host to the United Nations headquarters, has frequently welcomed Netanyahu for the annual UN General Assembly.

Still, US visa issuance for officials visiting the UN can be contentious — as seen when Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was denied entry by the Trump administration in 2020.

Amid the political tension, Netanyahu’s proposed visit continues to draw global attention, especially with the spotlight on international legal accountability and the shifting dynamics in US-Israel relations.