Netanyahu delivers combative UN address amid domestic election pressure
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a combative address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, attacking adversaries and Western allies alike while facing a closely contested reelection battle. The speech prompted dozens of diplomats to walk out of the chamber in protest.
Netanyahu, who is competing in Israel's seventh national election since 2019, used the global platform to criticize everyone from Iranian leaders to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and traditional partners Britain, France and Turkey. The October 27 election comes amid ongoing political instability that has led to repeated votes in recent years.
As envoys from across the world departed the hall, some jeering and booing, Netanyahu's team stood and applauded. The session speaker called for order while Netanyahu told those leaving:
If there are any other moral cowards who haven't left this hall, please do so now.
Clash with New York mayor
The Israeli leader directed sharp criticism at Mamdani, who became New York City's first Muslim mayor in January 2026 after winning the 2025 Democratic primary. Netanyahu accused the mayor of being antisemitic and claimed that
since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe.
The confrontation stems from Mamdani's initial threat to enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu before acknowledging he lacked such authority. The ICC issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing reasonable grounds to believe they bore criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Netanyahu denies the allegations.
Mamdani responded swiftly to the speech, stating:
Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians. Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Protests and absent voices
Outside the United Nations headquarters, dozens of protesters gathered, some carrying "stop the genocide" banners. Several demonstrators were detained, including Hollywood actor Susan Sarandon.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, one of Netanyahu's fiercest critics, was unable to attend after the Trump administration refused him a visa. In a video message played before Netanyahu's speech, Abbas said:
We reject these unlawful punitive measures, and we reject the accusations and justifications on which they were based.
European allies in crosshairs
Netanyahu took aim at Britain and France, historic Israeli partners who have become increasingly critical of its policies. Both nations imposed limited sanctions on Israeli exports from the occupied West Bank in August 2024, and suspended certain arms export licenses to Israel, specifically targeting equipment potentially used in Gaza operations.
The two European countries voted in favor of a September 2024 UN General Assembly resolution demanding Israel end its presence in occupied Palestinian territories within 12 months. The measure passed 143-9.
French President Emmanuel Macron drew particular ire for claiming in his own UN speech that Hamas was not active in the West Bank, where the group's stronghold has traditionally been Gaza.
Netanyahu invoked colonial history in his criticism:
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 sakes, they invented the term.
Iran labeled 'murderous dictatorship'
The prime minister reserved especially harsh language for Iran, calling it a murderous dictatorship. He claimed that nearly seven months of Israeli and US military action against Iran had prevented Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
I vowed to prevent Iran's murderous dictatorship from developing atomic bombs, nuclear weapons aimed at destroying Israel, nuclear weapons that could threaten the entire world,
He predicted the fall of Iranian leadership was "not far" off.
During his remarks, Iran's UN envoy displayed a portrait of Qasem Soleimani, the Quds Force commander killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3, 2020, on their vacant desk.
Despite the sustained military pressure, Iran's government has maintained control and continues to challenge US interests by effectively blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which approximately 21 percent of global petroleum liquids pass.
Pager device displayed
In a dramatic moment, Netanyahu brandished a pager device similar to those Israeli intelligence reportedly engineered with explosives before shipping them to operatives of Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The devices were later remotely detonated in September 2024, killing at least 37 people and injuring approximately 3,000, including Hezbollah operatives as well as civilian bystanders and children, according to Lebanese health officials.
Netanyahu also accused Turkey of supporting Hamas, calling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a "tyrant." Burhanettin Duran, the Turkish presidency's communications director, dismissed the remarks as "baseless accusations" incompatible with UN ideals, state-run news agency Anadolu reported.
Context of ongoing conflict
The speech comes nearly three years after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and over 250 people taken hostage in what marked the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. The subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza has been the subject of international scrutiny and debate.
Netanyahu is making only a brief stop in New York before returning to Israel, where the election campaign is in full swing. He is not scheduled to meet with any senior US officials during his visit.
