UN walkout greets Netanyahu as he rejects Gaza genocide allegations

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his speech at the UN General Assembly on Thursday to reject allegations of genocide in Gaza, calling them "the biggest lie of the century", and to defend Israel's actions against Iran. His address was marked by loud reactions in the hall, with cheers, boos and a mass walkout by delegates before he began speaking.

The walkout came after the Palestinian Mission to the UN urged member states to leave the hall in protest. Earlier in the day, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking in a pre-recorded address from Ramallah after the United States denied him and other senior Palestinian officials visas for the second year in a row, called on the international community to act against Israel and said Palestinians would not accept displacement.

Netanyahu said attacking Iran "was one of the easiest decisions I've ever had to make" and denounced the delegates who walked out as "moral cowards". "In defending itself, Israel is also also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall," he said. "In fact, I want you to know that many of their leaders even thank us privately for taking out Iran's nukes." As he walked to the rostrum, many delegates left and most visible seats were empty soon after. General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman repeatedly said, "Order in the hall, please." Netanyahu then said, "If there are any other moral cowards who have not yet left the hall, please do so now."

The Palestinian Mission had asked many of the 193 UN member states to bring as many staff as possible to the chamber and "collectively walk out of the assembly" once Netanyahu 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, which all peace-loving states and peoples demand must come to an end," the message said. Israel rejects allegations that it committed genocide and war crimes and is illegally occupying Palestinian territory. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, but the Israeli government says they are legal.

At one point, Netanyahu held up a pager and referred to September 17, 2024, when Israel remotely detonated thousands of pagers distributed to the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon. The attack wounded more than 3,000 people and killed 12, including two children. He also referred to the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, in which about 1,200 people were killed. "This is equal to 40,000 innocent Americans slaughtered in less than 24 hours," he said, adding that it was 16 times the death count of the 9/11 attacks in New York. Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump for taking decisive action against Iran and said, "We will continue to win because we have no other choice."

In his address, Abbas said, "We will not leave our homeland. We will not accept displacement. And we will not allow anyone to decide our future on our behalf." He urged governments to move beyond statements of concern. "How long will some countries continue to remain silent about Israel, or continue supplying it with weapons that it uses against our people? The world has witnessed the enormous cost in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank," Abbas said. "What, then, is the international community waiting for before it acts to protect the Palestinian people?"

Netanyahu's speech, scheduled for prime time in Israel, was the centrepiece of a shortened US trip that came as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called him a "war criminal" and pressed for his arrest, while acknowledging that the city had no authority to carry out an Criminal Court warrant and urging federal authorities to do so. Israel has become increasingly isolated during the war in Gaza, which began after the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, at least 73,922 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive. A ceasefire agreed by Israel and Hamas last October stopped the heaviest fighting and led to the release of the remaining hostages, but further steps have stalled. Israel still controls most of Gaza and continues airstrikes near military-held zones. Hamas has not disarmed or given up power, and there has been no progress on reconstruction in the largely destroyed territory.

Netanyahu has said no Palestinian state will be established while he is Israel's leader and has argued that the Palestinian Authority is not a partner for peace. He dismissed incidents of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank as a "handful of young juvenile delinquents" throwing stones, cutting down olive trees and setting fires. "I can't stand that. I won't stand for vigilantism," he said, before accusing foreign leaders and the international press of distorting the scale of the violence. His government is dominated by settlers and their allies, including the Cabinet minister in charge of the police, and there have been few arrests of settlers involved in attacks on Palestinians. Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, and Palestinians want both as part of a future state. Palestinians and much of the international community view the settlements as illegal and as an obstacle to a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.

The day at the UN captured the sharp divide over the war, with Netanyahu defending Israel's military campaign and rejecting allegations against it, while Palestinian leaders and diplomats pressed for stronger international action and staged a walkout to underline their protest.

With PTI Inputs

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