Netanyahu defends Israeli military action at the UN General Assembly as delegates walk out before his speech

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel’s military campaigns in Iran, Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East in a combative speech to the UN General Assembly, where dozens of delegates walked out in protest as he took to the stage. He called them moral cowards.

As delegates filed out, Netanyahu dared any remaining critics to follow. ‘If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left the hall, please do so now,’ he said. He rejected accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, framing the address less as a diplomatic appeal than a defiant rallying cry against a growing list of adversaries and erstwhile friends.

Iran strikes and the seven-front war

The US and Israel launched joint air strikes on Iran in February. The operation, Netanyahu said, was both technically daunting and politically straightforward. ‘Devastating Iran’s nuclear facilities was hard, was very hard to do,’ he said, but added that it was ‘one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make as prime minister.’ He claimed that if he had not struck Iran, ‘we’d all be dead.’ Netanyahu said Israel is fighting a seven-front war spanning Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen’s Houthis, and militias in Iraq. He declared that Israel and America ‘acted together’ not only to protect themselves ‘but to save civilisation.’ Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, addressing the same assembly a day earlier, offered a sharp counterpoint. ‘The nuclear weapon is in Israel, but the inspectors are in Iran. Israel kills, but Iran is subject to sanctions,’ he said.

Allies and critics under fire

Netanyahu criticised the United Kingdom and France for accusing Israel of colonialism, noting that they ‘invented the term,’ after both countries imposed limited sanctions on Israeli exports from the occupied West Bank. He labelled Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a ‘tyrant,’ accusing him of supporting Hamas. Erdogan had told the UN on Tuesday that injustices in Gaza and the West Bank ‘deeply offends the conscience of humanity.’

Clash with New York’s mayor

Netanyahu turned his fire on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. ‘Since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York,’ he said. ‘You tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me.’ Mamdani had previously said he would push for Netanyahu’s arrest but later said he did not have the authority to do so, and his office called the accusations ‘baseless lies’ meant to ‘sanitise his genocide of Palestinians.’

Trump praised, Abbas sidelined

Netanyahu thanked Trump for his partnership. ‘In this battle against the barbarians, we’ve had no greater partner than President Trump,’ he declared, as the US delegation joined the Israeli one in applauding the remark. Despite the warm words, Netanyahu is not scheduled to meet any top US leaders during his New York visit. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN via video link because he was denied a US entry visa. Abbas said Israeli policies threatened ‘the very life and existence of the Palestinian people on their homeland,’ and said Palestinians were being subjected to ‘killing, destruction, starvation and attempts at displacement, as well as a genocidal war’ in Gaza. Netanyahu is subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.

Protests outside the hall

The streets erupted. Actress Susan Sarandon was among protesters detained in New York City, along with Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier and New York City council member Chi Osse. An NYPD spokesperson said officers responded to reports of an ‘unscheduled demonstration’ where protesters were blocking a junction. Activists from Jewish Voice for Peace protested outside the UN, accusing it of ‘playing host to a war criminal,’ while Sonya Meyerson-Knox, the group’s communications director, said ‘solidarity with Palestinian freedom has never been greater.’

A speech for the home audience

Netanyahu faces an election at home on October 27. His religious-right wing coalition is trailing. Ariel Cohen, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, said Netanyahu delivered a ‘good speech’ but in the ‘wrong forum,’ adding, ‘That speech should be given at an election rally in Israel; this is who he’s communicating to.’ Netanyahu declared, ‘We’re going to win. We have no other choice.’ The speech comes amid a devastating conflict in which more than 73,920 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, since the Israeli military launched its campaign after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 hostages taken.