“We Will Continue To Defend Our State” — Defiant Netanyahu Addresses Half-Empty UN Hall
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Israel will continue to defend its state as he addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, while many leaders and delegates staged a walkout.
Netanyahu took the stage at UNGA81 in New York as Israel faces broad condemnation and growing isolation over its actions in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
“If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t yet left this hall, please do so now,” Netanyahu began as dozens of delegates walked out of the General Assembly Hall.
According to CBS News, the Palestinian Mission to the UN had earlier urged the 193 member nations to bring as many staff as possible to the hall and “collectively walk out” once the Israeli Prime Minister was announced.
“This will send a clear message to Netanyahu and his government that no one is willing to aid, abet, or be complicit in its genocide and war crimes and illegal occupation,” the message said.
Addressing the walkout, Netanyahu said Israel was defending many of the countries whose delegates left the hall.
Referring to the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, Netanyahu said that instead of collapsing, “we rose and fought like lions.”
“With our great American friends, we crushed Iran’s army, navy, air force and nuclear facilities,” he said, thanking US President Donald Trump for his “bold leadership.”
“We will continue to defend our state. We will continue to win because we have no other choice,” he said.
The Israeli leader arrived in New York early Thursday morning and is due to leave just hours after his speech because of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot which begins Friday evening. His office said he will meet with presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama and Ethiopia, the vice president of Colombia, and prime ministers of Greece, Slovenia and Papua New Guinea. He is not scheduled to meet with President Trump.
Netanyahu also responded to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who had called him a “war criminal” and threatened to have him arrested over an International Criminal Court warrant.
“Shame on you,” Netanyahu said, calling Mamdani “antisemitic”. “Shame on you for distorting the facts, shame on you for inverting victim and aggressor, shame on you for spitting in the face of truth.”
“You falsely, repeatedly accuse Israel of genocide. You try to stop me from coming here. You try to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth. Here’s a simple truth: Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide,” he said.
The speech comes after leaders from Europe and the Middle East, including France, the UK, Jordan, Syria, Qatar and Turkey, devoted part of their time at the UN podium on Wednesday to harshly denounce Israel.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told leaders that while Hamas’ October 7 attack was “utterly horrific,” the scale of Israel’s response has been unjustified.
“Far too many people have died — including so many children. Far too little aid is getting in, and it has gone on for far too long,” Burnham said.
French President Emmanuel Macron accused Israel of daily violations in the West Bank, saying “This every day makes it more impossible to achieve respect for the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to exist.”
Netanyahu called Macron’s statement a “grotesque absurdity,” citing the killing of French citizen Netanel Shukrun on Sunday in an attack Israel said was carried out by a Hamas terrorist.
King Abdullah of Jordan, whose country signed a peace agreement with Israel decades ago, told the UN that Israel should be hit with sanctions, asset freezes, embargoes and diplomatic isolation.
Analysts say Netanyahu is using the UN appearance to demonstrate his ability to defend Israel internationally just weeks before a tightly contested election in Israel.
