Netanyahu to Take Election Fight to UN Stage With Mamdani Feud

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to use his United Nations address on Thursday to confront New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a clash that underscores his growing isolation as Israel heads toward elections in five weeks.

In a video statement this week, Netanyahu addressed the mayor directly, saying he was travelling to New York "to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers" and "to tell the truth about you." He also accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas militants, a claim the wire report described as false.

Mamdani, who took office in January, campaigned on a promise to have Netanyahu arrested for alleged war crimes if he visited the city, though he later said he lacked the legal authority to do so. This week he called Netanyahu "the architect of a horrific genocide against Palestinians." Netanyahu rejects war crimes allegations.

This is Netanyahu's first visit to New York since Mamdani became mayor. Israelis opposed to Netanyahu's right-wing government are planning protests in the city.

Opinion polls suggest the October 27 general election could end Netanyahu's long hold on power. The campaign is unfolding amid mounting criticism of Israel's war in Gaza and without a planned meeting with US President Donald Trump.

"He's not really speaking to the UN, he's speaking to the Israeli public," said former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren, who expects the address to resemble a "campaign speech." Oren suggested Netanyahu may calculate that attacking Mamdani and Iran could sway voters wavering between him and leading rival Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief.

Netanyahu is making an unusually short US trip. After arriving early on Thursday, he is expected to fly back the same day after delivering his afternoon speech. Two Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his team was discussing possible meetings with senior US officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, though nothing had been set.

Notably, no meeting with Trump is expected. The two leaders jointly launched a war on Iran on February 28, but found themselves at odds after the US and Iran agreed to an interim ceasefire that Netanyahu opposed. Many Israelis were angered by the deal, and polls showed they questioned Trump's commitment to Israeli security, even as his administration proceeds with billions of dollars in arms sales to Israel.

"A lack of any encounter with the president, a month before an Israeli election, will indicate that Trump is keeping a distance from him and will be negative for Netanyahu's campaign," said Nimrod Goren, president of Mitvim, an Israeli think tank focused on foreign policy.

Israel's longest-serving prime minister has in the past made a visual spectacle of his UN appearances, using charts, diagrams and props to warn of Iran's nuclear programme, which Tehran says is for civilian purposes. Last year several delegations walked out as Netanyahu approached the lectern while supporters in the gallery cheered.

Goren said the speech would likely follow a familiar script: defending Israel, confronting critics and warning about Iran while arguing that Israel's opposition to Tehran serves wider international interests. He will also likely tout what he sees as his own achievements and close ties to Trump and the US, Goren said.

Israel has faced deepening diplomatic isolation since launching its war in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attacks nearly three years ago. Netanyahu is unable to travel to many countries because of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against him and his defence minister, as well as the leader of Hamas, in 2024.

Earlier this month, once-steadfast allies Britain, France and Canada announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which drew a muted response from Washington.