NEW YORK, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has landed in New York ahead of his UN speech, amid renewed calls for his arrest under an International Criminal Court warrant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. 

 

Netanyahu has presided over Israel's genocidal war in Gaza, which has killed at least 75,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, while Israeli settler and military violence has increased in the occupied West Bank. 

 

The ICC fugitive is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly in the early afternoon, local time, after his plane took off overnight from an airbase in southern Israel for security reasons, according to Israeli media. 

 

Alongside his UN address, Netanyahu is expected to meet several world leaders during a trip that will last only a few hours on the ground, according to his office. 

 

 

Netanyahu to meet world leaders 

 

 

Netanyahu is expected to meet the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama and Ethiopia, as well as the vice president of Colombia and the prime ministers of Greece, Slovenia and Papua New Guinea. 

 

“Many world leaders requested to meet with the prime minister during the visit, but due to a tight schedule and the need to return before the onset of Sukkot, the prime minister was only able to accommodate some of them,” Netanyahu’s office said on X. 

 

The trip comes without any confirmed meetings with senior officials from Israel's ally the United States, including with President Donald Trump. 

 

 

 

 

Netanyahu's appearance at the UN comes nearly two years after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for him over alleged war crimes, including “starvation as a method of warfare”, and crimes against humanity committed during the war in Gaza since October 2023. 

 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has called on the US federal government to arrest and prosecute Netanyahu upon his arrival, while clarifying that the mayor's office does not have independent legal authority to enforce the ICC warrant. 

 

Reports have since said that Netanyahu intends to address Mamdani during his General Assembly speech, after accusing the mayor of supporting Hamas and inciting anti-Jewish riots in New York.

 

 

 

 

A mass pro-Palestine protest is also expected to take place outside the UN headquarters in New York as Netanyahu delivers his speech. 

 

The demonstrations are being organised by groups including the Palestinian Youth Movement, Jewish Voice for Peace and the Democratic Socialists of America. 

 

Ahead of Netanyahu's address, videos shared on social media showed Jewish anti-Zionist organisers demonstrating outside the UN headquarters and calling for his arrest over the ICC warrant. 

 

 

Criticism beyond the US

 

 

Questions have also been raised about Netanyahu is able to travel to New York and enter the UN headquarters despite the arrest warrant against him. 

 

Emma Fourreau, a French politician and Member of the European Parliament representing the left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI), accused the French government of "violating international law" after allowing Netanyahu's plane to cross French airspace on its journey to New York. 

 

Craig Mokhiber, a lawyer and former UN human rights official, also criticised the decision to allow Netanyahu to access the UN headquarters and address the General Assembly without hindrance.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/24 September 2026  - - -