New York City is bracing for what law enforcement officials are describing as a potential security nightmare when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Manhattan next month, with furious NYPD sources warning that Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rhetoric could turn the annual United Nations security operation into a dangerous “powder keg.”

Netanyahu is expected to visit New York for the United Nations General Assembly and is scheduled to address the world body on September 26. But according to the New York Post, police officials say the Israeli prime minister’s visit could now require a massive, presidential-level security operation amid fears of violent protesters and potential attacks.

“Basically, he’s making what would be considered a Category 1 hurricane that we deal with every year into a Category 5 because of his words,” a law enforcement source told the Post.

The extraordinary concerns center on Mamdani’s repeated attacks against Netanyahu.

Mamdani called for Netanyahu’s arrest during his 2025 mayoral campaign and reiterated the threat last month before acknowledging that the NYPD does not have the authority to carry it out.

He subsequently urged his supporters to “take to the streets” during Netanyahu’s visit, saying that “one of the bedrocks of our city is protest.”

Those comments have infuriated members of law enforcement who say the NYPD already faces an enormous challenge protecting Netanyahu and scores of other world leaders during the General Assembly.

“We have to protect hotels, we have to protect wherever [dignitaries] go out to eat, we have to protect everything,” one law enforcement source told the Post. “Having the mayor say, ‘Go ahead and protest, and he should be arrested’ . . . is unfair to your own cops.”

Netanyahu’s complete New York itinerary has not yet been finalized, meaning the precise size of his security detail remains undetermined.

Police sources said the operation surrounding Netanyahu could involve 60 or more officers assigned to “direct and peripheral” protection. By comparison, most visiting dignitaries receive a detail consisting of one sergeant and eight detectives. Federal and state law enforcement officers will also be involved, along with Israeli security personnel.

But police sources say their greatest concern is that Mamdani’s rhetoric could embolden radical demonstrators to cross the line from protesting into violence.

“What’s going to stop one of the protesters from becoming a vigilante and trying to hurt or God forbid kill him?” one source said.

Officers are also concerned that protesters who believe they are acting in support of the mayor’s position could attack police.

Such unrest, one source warned, “could cause an officer to get hurt or even killed.”

Another law enforcement source pointed to the chilling attempted bombing outside Gracie Mansion in March as evidence that the threat of politically motivated violence in New York cannot be dismissed.

In that incident, two Pennsylvania men allegedly inspired by ISIS attempted to detonate two bombs among people attending a protest outside the mayoral residence. Police officials reportedly fear that Netanyahu’s highly charged visit could provide another potential target for extremists.

“His rhetoric is reckless,” a law enforcement source said of Mamdani. “It emboldens radical and unstable agitators who could put both New Yorkers and law enforcement officers in harm’s way.”

A City Hall insider expressed similar fears, describing the situation surrounding Netanyahu’s upcoming visit as potentially explosive.

“It’s very concerning,” the insider told the Post. “I mean, [Mamdani’s] rhetoric has clearly caused this uptick in antisemitism all across our city, and now telling people to go out and protest is going to create a powder keg of a situation.”

“It’s not the mayor’s job to tell people to protest and to urge them to protest,” the source continued. “It’s likely to be very violent. And I mean, what on Earth is this accomplishing?”

“It’s completely irresponsible,” the source added.

The concerns come as NYPD statistics cited by the Post show that 56.9% of all hate crimes recorded in New York City have been antisemitic, despite Jews comprising approximately 10% of the city’s population. Overall hate crimes have reportedly increased 9.4% this year even as the city has recorded significant declines across all seven major crime categories.

Detectives Endowment Association President Scott Munro issued a blistering statement accusing Mamdani of making an already difficult assignment even more dangerous for police.

“Mayor Mamdani’s reckless rhetoric surrounding Netanyahu and his calls for protests only fan the flames — making the assignment of protecting UNGA dignitaries even more difficult,” Munro said.

Munro noted that NYPD officers and detectives are still recovering from injuries suffered during unrest in Midtown surrounding the NBA Finals.

“Our detectives will do their job, as they always do,” Munro said. “It’s time for the mayor to do his — stand with the city and the men and women in blue protecting it, not with those on the radical protest line.”

The NYPD said the size and scope of Netanyahu’s protection will ultimately be determined based on an assessment of the threats surrounding his visit.

“As we do every year, the NYPD works with the Secret Service, the State Department, and other federal agencies to provide protection to foreign dignitaries traveling to NYC based on the level of threat assessed,” an NYPD spokesperson said.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)