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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly is highlighting Israel’s growing tensions with Western countries, Anadolu Agency reported.
Netanyahu’s schedule includes no meetings with leaders from Western countries that have traditionally maintained close relations with Israel, including the United States. He was unable to arrange talks with US President Donald Trump, while a planned meeting with Elon Musk was canceled.
The Israeli prime minister’s announced meetings include the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama and Ethiopia, Colombia’s vice president, and the prime ministers of Greece, Slovenia and Papua New Guinea. No meetings with US or other Western leaders are listed.
Israel’s international isolation
Israel’s diplomatic isolation has deepened since several countries, including France, the United Kingdom and Canada, recognized the State of Palestine at last year’s UN General Assembly amid the war in Gaza.
Before Israel’s Oct. 27 elections, authorities moved to advance the E1 settlement project in the occupied West Bank, where attacks by Israeli forces and settlers have intensified. The project would separate occupied East Jerusalem from the West Bank and divide the territory’s northern and southern parts.
The plan prompted objections from Western governments, particularly the UK. Twelve Western countries, including the UK, France and Canada, have imposed sanctions on illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, while others have indicated they may take similar measures.
In response to British sanctions, Israel decided to close the UK Consulate serving Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem, expel British representatives from Kiryat Gat and end British participation in training Palestinian Authority security forces. Israel also barred 12 British nationals, most of them lawmakers, from entering the country.
Israeli media reported that efforts to arrange meetings between Netanyahu and other world leaders on the sidelines of the General Assembly had proved difficult. The reports also warned that he could face protests in New York, as in previous years.
Netanyahu’s office said that “many world leaders requested meetings”, but that only some could be accommodated because of his schedule.
Former ambassador calls trip “humiliating”
Alon Liel, a retired ambassador and former secretary at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, described the visit as unprecedented in comments to Anadolu Agency.
“There has never been such a humiliating visit to the UN for an Israeli prime minister,” Liel said.
He said Israel’s international standing had deteriorated since October 2023 and that its future position would depend on whether the “right wing” remained in power.
“Compared with before Oct. 7, 2023, we are in a much weaker position internationally, including in the Middle East,” Liel said.
He argued that last year’s recognition of the State of Palestine by Western countries had dealt Netanyahu a greater setback than sanctions targeting illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“Even in the US, he no longer feels comfortable”
Liel said Netanyahu’s most significant setback this year had come from Washington.
“Netanyahu can meet Argentine and Greek leaders, but he cannot meet any American politician or official,” he said. “This means not only Europeans but also Americans are avoiding him.”
Liel added that Netanyahu had reached a point where “even in the US, he no longer feels comfortable”. He said the prime minister could not land in New York or stay there overnight.
Netanyahu’s plane is expected to land at a military airfield in New Jersey rather than John F. Kennedy International Airport. Reports have cited security, logistical and protest concerns for the change.
“This is definitely not a normal visit. The political objections to him, the speeches against Israel at the UN and the security situation are not normal,” Liel said. “Even in the US, Netanyahu is acting like an unwanted person.”
