Netanyahu attacks Palestinian recognition as dozens walk out of UN speech

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has attacked the recognition of a Palestinian state by multiple Western countries during a combative speech at the UN General Assembly.

Netanyahu labelled the recognition moves a “mark of shame” that sent the message “murdering Jews pays off”.

Dozens of officials and diplomats staged a walk-out as he took to the podium, leaving large parts of the conference hall empty. Outside, protesters against Israel’s war in Gaza gathered in Times Square.

Israel has come under huge international pressure over its military action in Gaza, culminating in the UK, France, Canada, Australia and other countries recognising the State of Palestine this week.

In his opening remarks, Netanyahu displayed a map labelled “The Curse” that he said showed Iranian proxy groups across the Middle East. He then highlighted Israeli military operations across the past year against Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza, and Iran.

He thanked US President Donald Trump for American involvement in bombing Iran’s Fordo nuclear site in June, and drew parallels between Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel and the 9/11 attack on the US. He said the two countries were fighting the same enemies, pointing to chants of “death to America” by groups linked to Iran.

The Israeli prime minister repeated that Israel would not allow a Palestinian state to exist and said this position was supported by the vast majority of Israelis.

He went on to refute the conclusion of a UN commission of inquiry that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, claiming the charge was “baseless”.

He also rejected statements by multiple UN agencies that Israel is deliberately restricting the amount of aid entering Gaza. In August, a UN-backed body confirmed that famine was taking place in Gaza City.

Ahead of his speech, Netanyahu’s office ordered that the Israeli military mount loudspeakers on trucks near the Gaza perimeter fence in order to broadcast his words live across the territory.

Netanyahu also claimed that Israeli intelligence had hacked the smartphones of people in Gaza and would stream his speech to them directly. BBC sources in Gaza said their phones had not been affected.

He said the intention of this was for a message to reach Israeli hostages there.

“Our brave heroes,” he read on the podium. “This is Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking to you live from the United Nations.
We have not forgotten you, not even for a second. The people of Israel are with you. We will not falter, and we will not rest until we bring all of you home.”

There are 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, 20 of whom are thought to be alive.

Gaza resident Fadi told the BBC World Service’s OS programme: “What does he gain by broadcasting his speech forcibly to the besieged civilians inside the tents, except to further humiliate them?”

Netanyahu devoted the latter section of his address to Israel’s regional neighbours, saying it was close to a de-escalation agreement with Syria and calling on the Lebanese government to step-up its efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

He immediately came under fire within Israel, with opposition leader Yair Lapid writing: “Today saw a weary and whining Israeli prime minister, in a speech overloaded with overused gimmicks”

“Instead of stopping the diplomatic tsunami – Netanyahu today worsened the state of the State of Israel,” he wrote on X.

Yair Golan, leader of Israel’s Democrats party said the speech showed “only victimhood, sanctimoniousness, and complete blindness to the suffering of the hostages and the sacrifice of the fighters”.

He labelled the loudspeaker stunt “invalid, childish, and insane”, saying it was “propaganda show”.

A day earlier, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas said in his speech to the General Assembly that he is ready to work with world leaders to implement a peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians.

Shortly after Netanyahu finished speaking, Donald Trump separately told journalists: “I think we have a deal on Gaza”. He did not provide further details, though speculation has been mounting that a ceasefire deal could be close.

International journalists have been banned by Israel from entering the Gaza Strip independently since the start of the war nearly two years ago, making verifying claims from both sides difficult. Some journalists have been taken into Gaza by the IDF under controlled access.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 65,549 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.