Netanyahu Left to Address Near-Empty UN Hall After Mass Walkout

By Staff, Agencies

Dozens of delegations walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall as "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address on Thursday, leaving large sections of the chamber empty, Reuters reported.

The walkout came as Netanyahu took the podium during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Reuters reported that dozens of delegates left the hall at the start of his speech.

The delegations that left included representatives from Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, Egypt, Panama, Senegal, Palestine, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, Venezuela, Mozambique, Myanmar, Ireland, the Maldives, Indonesia, Kuwait, Namibia, Malaysia, Guyana, Kenya, Syria, Tuvalu, Turkmenistan, Yemen, Antigua and Barbuda, Congo, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tonga, Uzbekistan, Angola, Barbados, Colombia, Comoros, Dominica, Djibouti, North Macedonia, San Marino, South Africa, Somalia, Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Brazil, Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Liberia, Eritrea, Chad, the Central African Republic, Libya, Mauritania, Jordan, Nicaragua, Madagascar, Niger, Peru, Saint Lucia, Slovenia, Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, the DPRK, Eswatini, Uganda, Pakistan, Lesotho, Bolivia, Spain, Cuba, and Equatorial Guinea.

Netanyahu responded to the departures by referring to those who remained in the chamber as "moral cowards", saying, “If there are any other moral cowards who have not yet left the hall, please do so now."

During his address, Netanyahu directly attacked New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, telling him, "Mr. Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can't silence me."

The "Israeli" prime minister also attacked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, referring to him as a "tyrant".

Netanyahu further targeted Qatar, accusing it of having spent decades funding US universities and television channels in what he described as an effort to "brainwash young people."

His remarks came after Erdogan had used his own UN address earlier in the week to criticize the "Israeli" entity's conduct in Gaza and call for greater international pressure over the situation there.

Netanyahu also praised US President Donald Trump, describing him as "'Israel's' greatest partner."

Addressing the war on Gaza, Netanyahu rejected accusations that his entity had committed genocide, instead claiming that it had "avoided committing it."

Netanyahu's speech followed Trump’s Tuesday address before the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, during which the US president publicly framed his options toward Iran as a choice between reaching an agreement with Tehran and destroying the Islamic Republic.

Trump questioned whether an agreement could be reached that would allow Iran to “rebuild” or whether he would instead “annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly,” while suggesting that a deal could eventually be reached after the US midterm elections.

Reuters reported that Trump used the address to defend the war while warning of further escalation if no settlement is reached.