Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced he still plans to attend the UN General Assembly in New York City this autumn, despite Mayor Zohran Mamdani's earlier threat to arrest him. Mamdani, who walked back that threat last week after realizing he lacks the legal authority to enforce an International Criminal Court warrant, is now being accused by Netanyahu of 'fomenting hate.'

Netanyahu told Fox News on Sunday that he was 'not concerned' about the mayor's previous pledge, adding, 'He's supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers, Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone, but he's trying to turn one group against the other.' The prime minister referenced a pair of stabbings in New York on Thursday, in which a suspect stabbed a Jewish man and an Asian man blocks apart while allegedly shouting 'Allahu akbar.' Both men survived, and the suspect has been charged with hate crimes. Netanyahu said Jewish New Yorkers were 'afraid right now.'

Mamdani, a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights, made opposition to Israel's Gaza operation a central plank of his campaign. In an address last week, he called Netanyahu a 'war criminal' and had previously promised to enforce the ICC's 2024 arrest warrant, which accuses the prime minister of war crimes in Gaza - charges Israel denies. After the New York Times pressed him on the pledge, Mamdani admitted his administration lacked 'the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant' and urged the federal government to step in. 'Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City,' he said. The mayor's office did not respond to a request for comment.