Netanyahu defies UN walkout, mounts defence of Israel over Gaza war

UNITED NATIONS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mounted a combative defence of his country’s military actions at the United Nations on Thursday, rejecting allegations of genocide in Gaza as dozens of delegates walked out of the General Assembly hall in protest.

The dramatic walkout came as Netanyahu faced mounting international criticism over Israel’s conduct of the Gaza war and sought to project a defiant message ahead of Israel’s Oct 27 election.

As he took the podium, large numbers of delegates left the chamber, leaving sections of the hall visibly empty. Netanyahu dismissed the departing officials as “moral cowards”, while supporters in the gallery responded with chants in Hebrew.

Netanyahu used his address to confront some of his most vocal critics, including New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has described the Israeli leader as a war criminal and accused him of responsibility for what he called a genocide against Palestinians.

Addressing the criticism, Netanyahu rejected the allegations outright, saying Israel had not committed genocide but had instead prevented one.

He also lashed out at Western European leaders, accusing them of yielding to what he described as “antisemitic mobs”, and criticised Qatar and Turkiye, accusing both countries of spreading what he called false claims about Israel.

Netanyahu directly challenged Mamdani over his previous pledge to have the Israeli prime minister arrested if he visited New York. Mamdani later acknowledged that he lacked the legal authority to carry out such an arrest.

“You tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth,” Netanyahu said.

His appearance at the UN came amid a highly charged atmosphere in New York, where protesters gathered outside the headquarters to oppose his visit and Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Police arrested at least 30 protesters, including actors and politicians, during demonstrations.

The scenes inside and outside the UN highlighted the growing international controversy surrounding Israel’s Gaza campaign, with Netanyahu using the General Assembly podium to defend Israel while critics sought to challenge his account through diplomatic protest and street demonstrations.

He accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas militants, something Mamdani has denied.

“To all those spreading these lies about my country and about our brave soldiers, whether they sit in this hall or in the office of the antisemitic mayor of New York, I say this: Shame on you!” Netanyahu said.

In a statement, Mamdani said: “As he has done time and again, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians. Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Qatar also rejected the accusation that it was seeking to turn public opinion against Israel, with its foreign ministry spokesperson saying on X that Netanyahu’s repeated attacks on Doha sought to divert attention from responsibility for policies on the ground.

Netanyahu’s political future on the line

With general elections less than five weeks away, Netanyahu spoke for about 40 minutes in what amounted to a campaign-style speech, broadcast live in evening prime time on all four of the main Israeli television channels.

Ahead of his speech, Netanyahu’s government paid to place 500 pro-Israel and anti-Iran billboards and dozens of trucks carrying messages in support of Israel across Manhattan, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

With opinion polls showing Netanyahu’s bloc trailing rivals ahead of the election, he used the speech to showcase what he described as Israel’s fight on seven fronts, including the war with Iran that began with joint US-Israeli strikes in late February.

As in past UN appearances, Netanyahu used props, holding up a pager linked to an attack that killed and wounded Iran-backed Hezbollah members in Lebanon and a Starlink satellite internet receiver he said he would leave for the Iranian delegation.

“So when they inevitably defect, they too will be able to freely tell their story on social media,” he said, adding that it was only a matter of time before the Iranian authorities would be toppled by the people.

Street protests in New York

Several hundred protesters gathered near the United Nations, with dozens blocking traffic and chanting, “Stop arming Israel, let Gaza live” and “Stop arming Israel, let Iran live.” Police detained them.

Netanyahu was making a short visit to the US for his UN address and, unusually, without a planned meeting with US President Donald Trump, whom he praised during his speech.

“We will continue to defend our state. We will continue to win because we have no other choice. In this battle against the barbarians, we’ve had no greater partner than President Trump. I thank him. I thank him for his bold leadership,” he said.

Deepening isolation

Israel has faced deepening diplomatic isolation since launching its war in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attacks on Israel nearly three years ago.

Netanyahu is unable to travel to many countries because of an International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued against him and his then-defense minister as well as the then-military commander of Hamas in 2024.

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

“The leaders of these countries have chosen to succumb to the antisemitic mobs. They’ve chosen weakness. They’ve chosen appeasement,” Netanyahu said.

He played down worsening violence in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers, describing it as “a handful of young juvenile delinquents, about 150 in number, who throw stones, who chop down olive trees.”

“Occasionally … they lit some fires. I can’t stand that. I won’t stand for vigilantism. We’re a country of law.”