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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended his country’s military campaigns across the Middle East in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, according to the BBC.
Dozens of delegates left the chamber as Netanyahu took the stage. Responding to the walkout, he said Israel would continue fighting because “we have no other choice”.
“If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left the hall, please do so now,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli leader also rejected accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly denied that its actions in the territory amount to genocide, saying they are justified as self-defence.
Abbas warns of threat to two-state solution
Earlier, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the UN in a recorded message that Israeli policies, particularly the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, threatened “the very life and existence of the Palestinian people on their homeland”.
Abbas said the policies also jeopardised the internationally backed two-state solution for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
He accused the Israeli military of subjecting Palestinians to “killing, destruction, starvation and attempts at displacement, as well as a genocidal war” in Gaza.
Abbas addressed the annual gathering by video link after being denied a US entry visa.
Netanyahu attacks critics
Netanyahu, who is subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over alleged war crimes, criticised countries and leaders who have condemned Israel.
“They accuse Israel, tiny Israel, of colonialism — some colonialism. And who’s accusing us? Among them are people in Britain and in France. For God’s sake, they invented the term,” he said.
He called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a “tyrant” and accused him of supporting Hamas. Erdogan had told the UN that the suffering of people in Gaza and the West Bank “deeply offends the conscience of humanity”.
Netanyahu also criticised New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who had previously pledged to arrest the Israeli prime minister but later said he lacked the authority to do so.
“Since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York,” Netanyahu said.
Mamdani’s office responded that Netanyahu had used the speech to repeat “baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians”.
Casualties in Gaza and regional conflict
Several protesters opposing Netanyahu’s visit were detained in New York, including Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon and Emmy-winning actress Hannah Einbinder.
The Israeli military launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip after the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage in the attack.
More than 73,920 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel’s military campaign, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Last year, the International Association of Genocide Scholars said Israel’s conduct in Gaza met the legal definition of genocide under the UN convention. Israel rejects that assessment.
On 28 February, Israel and the United States began launching major air strikes on Iran, saying they suspected Tehran of secretly developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denied the allegation and retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighbouring Gulf Arab states hosting US military bases.
