Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) on Sunday, July 19th, 2026, urged New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) to “sit down” after Mamdani suggested the possibility of arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his upcoming visit to the United Nations General Assembly.

Mamdani told The New York Times’ “The Interview” podcast on Saturday that he was reviewing whether his administration could arrest Netanyahu, who faces an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant issued in 2024. The warrant accuses Netanyahu of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine, including using starvation as a method of warfare and other inhumane acts against Palestinians in Gaza.

“We’re not talking about a personal assessment of Benjamin Netanyahu,” Mamdani said. “We’re talking about the International Criminal Court and the fact that they have a warrant out for this prime minister’s arrest, and I think it’s important to talk about the weight that that has as a charge and that also, as the mayor of New York City, I’ll be following the laws of New York City.”

Fetterman responded in an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” emphasizing that the United States is not a party to the ICC, which he referred to as a “corrupt court.” He said, “If I were mayor, I would just sit down and focus on other — the problems that they have in New York. You and I know that. Sit down.”

The dispute arises amid ongoing conflict in Gaza. The New York mayor has accused Netanyahu and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) of committing genocide in Gaza, a claim supported by a recent report from independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Netanyahu has accused Hamas of genocide following their attack on Israel in 2023, asserting that the IDF has acted as morally as possible in Gaza.

IDF attacks since the 2023 Hamas attack have resulted in over 73,000 Palestinian deaths, including more than 1,000 since a ceasefire was reached in October 2025, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Sources