UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 25 — Scores of delegates walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall in protest as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium to address the general debate of the 81st session.
Netanyahu used his speech to defend Israel’s military actions in Gaza and elsewhere in the region, amid growing international criticism and diplomatic isolation. Rejecting allegations of genocide in Gaza, the Israeli prime minister claimed that Israel “didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide.” He accused several countries, including Western European nations, of “succumbing to the antisemitic mobs” and refusing to stand with Israel. As Netanyahu began speaking, dozens of delegates walked out, leaving a large number of empty seats in the hall. Accusing his critics of spreading what he called lies about Israel, Netanyahu called the delegates who walked out “moral cowards.”
Earlier in the day, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the assembly that the existence of the Palestinian people is under threat and the two-state solution has been undermined severely. Addressing world leaders via pre-recorded video, he said Palestinians in Gaza were being subjected to killing, destruction, starvation, attempted forced displacement and “a war of genocide,” while in the West Bank settlement expansion was accelerating. “The danger is no longer limited to undermining the two-state solution and preventing the realization of the Palestinian state, it threatens the very existence of the Palestinian people,” Abbas said. “Israeli extremism is expanding its colonial project to create the so-called Greater Israel,” he warned.
Abbas called for greater international efforts to preserve the two-state solution, noting that “neither military occupation nor settler terrorism will pave the way to that solution.” He criticized the U.S. decision to deny visas to the Palestinian delegation for a second consecutive year, and called on Washington to lift the sanctions and restrictions against Palestine. Abbas thanked countries that had banned products from Israeli settlements and urged Washington to honor its commitment to prevent the annexation of Palestinian territory. “We will not leave our homeland, we will not accept displacement, we will not allow anyone to decide our future on our behalf,” he said.
Outside the UN headquarters, hundreds of demonstrators gathered to protest Netanyahu’s appearance and express support for the Palestinian people.
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