Netanyahu denounces enemies and allies at UN: What triggered the mass walkout?

United Nations/New York: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly on Thursday (local time) to mount a forceful defence of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and against Iran, while attacking critics including New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar.

His appearance triggered a major walkout in the General Assembly hall, with dozens of delegates leaving as he began speaking. The walkout reflected the deep divisions over Israel’s conduct in Gaza and growing diplomatic criticism of Netanyahu’s government. Netanyahu responded by calling those who walked out “moral cowards” and challenging them to leave if they did not want to hear his remarks.

The speech came as Netanyahu faces growing criticism abroad over the Gaza war and a general election in Israel on October 27.

Why did dozens of delegates walk out?

The walkout unfolded as Israel faces mounting international criticism over its military campaign in Gaza and what Reuters described as growing diplomatic isolation.

The divisions were visible as Netanyahu began speaking, with dozens of delegates leaving the hall in protest. His supporters in the gallery, meanwhile, applauded and chanted in Hebrew, while General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman repeatedly called for order.

The protest came after several days of speeches at the General Assembly in which world leaders criticised Israel’s actions in Gaza and called for greater international action over the Palestinian situation. Netanyahu used his address to reject those criticisms and to defend Israel’s military campaign.

Outside the UN, several hundred protesters also gathered, chanting slogans including “Stop arming Israel, let Gaza live” and “Stop arming Israel, let Iran live”. Police detained protesters after they blocked traffic.

The broader diplomatic backdrop also included measures by Britain, France and Canada targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu criticised those countries during his speech, accusing their leaders of choosing “weakness” and “appeasement”.

Netanyahu calls Gaza genocide allegations ‘the biggest lie’

Netanyahu rejected allegations that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, describing them as “the biggest lie of the century”.

“Israel didn't commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide,” he said, defending the country’s military actions and accusing critics of spreading false narratives about Israel and its soldiers.

Netanyahu’s government has repeatedly rejected genocide allegations and argued that its military campaign is directed against Hamas.

Netanyahu defends Iran strikes

A central theme of the speech was Israel’s military campaign against Iran.

Netanyahu said attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities was one of the easiest decisions he had made as prime minister, arguing that Israel had acted to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

“In defending itself, Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall,” Netanyahu said, claiming that some foreign leaders had privately thanked Israel for striking Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

He praised US President Donald Trump and described him as Israel’s strongest partner.

Netanyahu also predicted the eventual fall of Iran’s current leadership, saying the Iranian people would eventually be free and that the government would be brought down by what he called its “lies”, “corruption” and “cruelty”.

He described Israel as having fought a “seven-front war” involving Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iran, Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria and Palestinian militants in the West Bank.
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Mamdani becomes a major target

Netanyahu devoted considerable attention to Mamdani, who has been critical of Israel’s war in Gaza and had previously called for Netanyahu’s arrest.

During his UN address, Netanyahu said Jewish residents in New York no longer felt safe since Mamdani’s election and accused the mayor of supporting individuals and positions hostile to Israel and Jewish communities.

“Mr. Mamdani, since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York,” Netanyahu said.

He also accused Mamdani of trying to stop him from addressing the UN.

“You tried to silence me. Well, you can't silence me. You can't silence the truth,” Netanyahu said.

Mamdani rejected Netanyahu’s remarks, accusing him of repeating what he described as “baseless lies” about Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“As he has done time and again, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani also referred to the International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

Turkey rejects Netanyahu’s attack on Erdogan

Turkey was another major target of Netanyahu’s speech.

He accused Turkey of becoming a “super spreader” of antisemitic lies about Israel and called President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a “tyrant”, while alleging that Ankara hosts Hamas leaders.

Turkey rejected the remarks on Friday.

Turkish presidential communications director Burhanettin Duran described Netanyahu’s accusations against Turkey and Erdogan as “baseless” and said using the UN platform for such remarks was incompatible with the organisation’s ideals of peace, law and dialogue.

Duran also said Netanyahu’s remarks could not make what he described as the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza or the legal proceedings against the Israeli prime minister “invisible”.
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Qatar rejects ‘influence campaign’ allegation

Qatar also rejected accusations made by Netanyahu during the speech.

Netanyahu accused Doha of spending large sums to influence public opinion against Israel and claimed its aim was to shape young people’s views against Israel, the United States and the West.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari rejected the allegation, saying it was an attempt to divert attention from Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territories and their humanitarian consequences.

Al-Ansari also said attributing changes in global public opinion, particularly among younger people, to alleged influence campaigns was an insult to their awareness and judgment.

Britain and France also face criticism

Netanyahu did not limit his criticism to Israel’s adversaries, also taking aim at Britain and France, two countries that have historically been partners of Israel but have become increasingly critical of its policies.

Referring to accusations that Israel was practising colonialism, Netanyahu said Britain and France had themselves “invented the term”.

Britain, France and Canada had recently announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu accused their leaders of succumbing to what he called “antisemitic mobs” and choosing “weakness” and “appeasement”.

French President Emmanuel Macron has also been a prominent advocate of international efforts related to recognition of a Palestinian state, further straining relations with Netanyahu’s government.

Pager and Starlink displayed during speech

As in previous UN appearances, Netanyahu used visual props while making his case.

He held up a pager while referring to the September 2024 attack involving remotely detonated devices used by members of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

He also displayed a Starlink satellite internet receiver and said he would leave it for the Iranian delegation, suggesting Iranian officials could use it to communicate freely if they eventually defected from the country’s leadership.

Netanyahu’s election campaign backdrop

The UN appearance came just weeks before Israel’s October 27 general election.

Reuters reported that Netanyahu’s bloc was trailing rivals in opinion polls and said the prime minister used the address to showcase what he described as Israel’s fight on seven fronts.

His government also paid for hundreds of pro-Israel and anti-Iran billboards and trucks displaying supportive messages across Manhattan ahead of the speech, according to Netanyahu’s office.

The Israeli prime minister made a short visit to New York for the UN address and, unusually, had no planned meeting with Trump during the trip, although he praised the US president repeatedly during his speech.