Netanyahu is booed as he begins his UNGA speech, with many delegations walking out of the General Assembly hall

Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations on Thursday began on a not-so-welcoming note. When the Israeli prime minister reached the podium, many delegates began leaving the General Assembly hall, and shouts of disapproval and jeers rang out as he started speaking. The incident reflects people's perception of the Israeli PM, who apparently is accused of a grotesque crime against humanity, as per a report by Reuters and Le Monde.

The fact that the seats were empty soon became one of the main features of his appearance, for some of the delegates left as a protest but Netanyahu's own staff remained and clapped.




Netanyahu did not ignore the walkout; he responded to those who had left by referring to them as "moral cowards". Netanyahu said, "If there are any other moral cowards who haven't left this hall, please do so now."

Dozens of delegates leave the hall

The Palestinian Mission to the UN had urged countries to leave when Netanyahu began his address. Thus, the walkout was pretty much expected.

When the delegates began to leave, the air in the room became more tense, and the speaker asked for order since some people were booing and making rude comments.

Netanyahu carried on with his speech, focusing a great deal on Israel's military operations and its conflict with Iran.

He argued that Israel's decision to launch an attack on Iran was the right one and claimed that this action had prevented Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. He also maintained that Israel was acting in order to protect other countries, some of whose representatives had just left the room.

The prime minister of Israel stated that certain foreign leaders had personally thanked Israel for its actions directed against Iran.

He also talked about Hamas, the war in Gaza and incidents involving young Israeli people in the West Bank. Netanyahu stated that he did not support attacks by young Israelis upon Palestinian communities and called those taking part "juvenile delinquents." "What [the media] cover is a handful of young juvenile delinquents, about 150 in number, who go or throw stones, who chop down olive trees," Netanyahu said. "I can't stand that. I won't stand for vigilantism."

Israel denies the allegations that it has committed genocide and war crimes.

Netanyahu takes aim at critics

In the speech, Netanyahu targeted a number of his critics. He targeted New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani as well. Mamdani is apparently one of Netanyahu’s most prominent criticHe described him as antisemitic, stating that many Jews no longer felt safe in the city as a result of Mamdani's election.

Earlier, Mamdani had stated that he would enforce the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu, although he later admitted that he did not have the authority to do so.

Netanyahu also directed his remarks towards Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, describing him as a 'tyrant' and blaming Turkey for supporting Hamas.

France and Britain were likewise criticised. Netanyahu responded to their criticism of the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank by referring to the colonial histories of those countries.

The tension wasn't confined to the UN chamber. Outside the United Nations, demonstrators assembled while Netanyahu was speaking. A number of them were holding banners which read 'stop the genocide'.

While giving his speech, Netanyahu also displayed a pager when speaking about the operation against Hezbollah members in Lebanon. When he had finished, the walkout had turned into a key feature of the speech. A number of diplomats had left, but some had stayed in their seats and clapped. The response from within the UN revealed the clear split concerning Netanyahu and Israel's actions as the world leaders met for the General Assembly.