Dozens of diplomats from around the world walked out of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations on Thursday, protesting the Israeli leader’s remarks.
If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left this hall, please do so now,” Netanyahu declared during his speech.
Although the hall had been sparsely populated earlier, it filled up in anticipation of Netanyahu’s appearance. The Palestinian delegation had circulated a memo beforehand, urging other missions to join their protest by walking out.
During his address, Netanyahu referred to Israeli youths who target Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank as “juvenile delinquents.
He stated, “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. I can’t stand that. I won’t stand for vigilantism.
Netanyahu also criticized Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, calling him a “tyrant” and accusing Ankara of sheltering Hamas militant leaders. “The latest country to become a super spreader of antisemitic lies (is Turkey)… Erdogan is a tyrant. He also hosts the Hamas terror chiefs,” Netanyahu said.
Additionally, the Prime Minister claimed that “many Jews” no longer feel safe in New York following the election of leftist Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “Since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York,” he stated, also accusing the mayor of falsely and repeatedly charging Israel with genocide.
— AFP
