Dozens of delegates walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall in New York on Thursday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address, in a protest against Israel’s military actions.
Netanyahu was approaching the podium when several delegations left the chamber. The walkout followed a call by the Palestinian Mission to the United Nations for representatives to leave during the Israeli leader’s speech.
Reacting to the departures, Netanyahu challenged those who remained in the hall.
“If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left the hall, please do so now.”
Netanyahu used his address to defend Israel’s military action against Iran, particularly the strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.
He acknowledged the difficulty of the operation but said he considered the decision necessary to protect Israel and other countries.
“Devastating Iran’s nuclear facilities was hard. It was very hard to do. But for me, it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make as Prime Minister.”
He argued that Israel had to act because, in his assessment, allowing Iran’s nuclear programme to continue would have posed a serious threat.
“Because if we hadn’t done it, we’d all be dead.”
Netanyahu also argued that Israel’s military action had benefited countries whose representatives had walked out of the chamber.
“In defending itself, Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall.”
He claimed that some foreign leaders had privately expressed support for Israel’s actions against Iran’s nuclear programme.
“Many of their leaders even thank us privately for taking out Iran’s nukes.”
The Israeli Prime Minister described the contrast between private and public positions as “mind-blowing hypocrisy”.
Netanyahu also devoted part of his address to Israel’s history and what he described as the country’s longstanding struggle for survival.
He recalled the 1967 Six-Day War and spoke about his brother, Yoni Netanyahu, an Israeli paratrooper officer who later led the 1976 operation to rescue hostages held at Entebbe Airport in Uganda.
Netanyahu recalled asking his brother what he expected to happen before the Six-Day War.
According to the Prime Minister, Yoni responded that Israel would win because it had no other choice.
Netanyahu also recounted the 1976 Air France hijacking, during which Israeli forces carried out a military operation at Entebbe and rescued more than 100 hostages.
He described the operation as one of the most dramatic hostage rescue missions of its time and highlighted his brother’s role as its commander.
The walkout came amid heightened international tensions over the conflict involving Israel and Iran and continuing criticism of Israeli military operations.
It was also the latest disruption at the 81st UN General Assembly.
Earlier in the week, members of the Iranian delegation walked out during US President Donald Trump’s address after he threatened to “annihilate” Iran if Tehran failed to reach an agreement with Washington. The Cuban delegation also left the chamber during Trump’s speech.
Netanyahu’s appearance at the General Assembly therefore took place against a backdrop of diplomatic tensions, competing positions over the Israel-Iran conflict and growing divisions among UN member states over the ongoing hostilities.
𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: 𝐔𝐍 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐀𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐚𝐡𝐮 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤
Credit: X | Sky News
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