Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech before the UN General Assembly yesterday evening (Thursday) against the backdrop of growing diplomatic isolation and just 33 days before the elections in Israel. The speech, described in commentaries as “bombastic and aggressive,” contained sharp attacks on Western heads of state and government, Iran, Qatar, Turkey, Hezbollah, and Hamas — yet it made no mention of peace initiatives, a vision, hope, or an expansion of the Abraham Accords.
When Netanyahu took the stage, representatives of around 70 countries left the hall in protest. The Prime Minister began his speech by directly addressing those who were leaving the hall, calling out to them: “If there are any more moral cowards… do us a favor and leave.” Although the number of those who left the hall was higher than last year, no signs were held up and no booing was heard. The Prime Minister’s office had arranged in advance for the public gallery to be filled with supporters who applauded throughout the entire speech.
Netanyahu began with Iran’s nuclear program, stating that the decision to attack the nuclear facilities had been one of the easiest decisions he had made as Prime Minister — despite reports that the facilities had not been completely destroyed and that Tehran was working on rebuilding them. He described the October 7 massacre as the “darkest day” in Israel’s history, compared its scale — relative to the population — to approximately 16 September 11 attacks, and once again referenced the pager operation against Hezbollah, holding up a pager at the United Nations podium. The Prime Minister mentioned the return of all hostages, without noting that some of them did not return alive.
As a symbolic gesture, Netanyahu presented a Starlink device on stage and left it as a “gift” for the Iranian delegation so that, as he put it, they could bypass the internet censorship in the country. Later that same evening, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon approached the head of the Iranian delegation to actually hand over the device. However, he avoided making eye contact and refused to accept it.
The Iranian representative didn’t want the starlink 🙁 pic.twitter.com/wpElxvrrr4
— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) September 24, 2026
During the speech itself, the Iranian delegation, which was not present in the hall, had placed a picture of the slain commander Qassem Soleimani on their seat — as a form of counter-protest and an allusion to retaliation.
Netanyahu devoted a considerable portion of his speech to attacking political opponents:
Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was described as a “dictator” who harbors senior Hamas leaders. He was also accused of being responsible for the killing of Kurdish civilians, the denial of the Armenian genocide, and the imprisonment of journalists. Netanyahu emphasized that Jerusalem — contrary to the statement made by the Turkish Interior Minister, whose dream it was to become governor of Jerusalem — would remain exclusively the capital of Israel. A spokesperson for the Turkish presidency subsequently declared that the remarks were “impudent and shameful,” were not in keeping with the values of the United Nations, and could not conceal the international legal proceedings against Netanyahu.
Qatar — The emirate was accused of funding American universities and “toxic” media organizations such as Al Jazeera in order to influence public opinion against Israel. The Prime Minister refrained, however, from declaring Qatar an enemy state. The deputy Qatari ambassador in Washington responded that Netanyahu had spoken before a “half-empty hall.” Qatar also rejected any state interference in the content and activities of the universities funded by the emirate.
Zohran Mamdani — The Mayor of New York was personally and sharply attacked over his stance toward Hamas and activists in his circle. Netanyahu stated that since his election, Jews in the city no longer felt “safe.” Mamdani responded that Netanyahu was repeating “lies” to “whitewash” Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, and pointed to the international arrest warrant still outstanding against him for alleged “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Emmanuel Macron — The French President was accused of spreading a “lie” when he said that Hamas had never operated in the “West Bank.”
Netanyahu devoted a longer section of his speech to responding to accusations leveled against Israel during the same gathering. These included remarks by the Turkish President, the Emir of Qatar, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who had spoken of “genocide,” a “concentration camp,” and “ethnic cleansing.” In response, the Prime Minister cited the scope of humanitarian aid that had been brought into the Gaza Strip, as well as the IDF’s measures to warn the population before operations, in order to refute these accusations.
Netanyahu’s visit to the United States was unusually brief. He did not stay overnight at his usual hotel in Manhattan and did not meet with US President Donald Trump, who was at the time meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping. A planned meeting with Elon Musk was also cancelled because the Secret Service had raised objections to an unplanned trip to Texas.
The Prime Minister met in New York with the heads of government of Greece and Slovenia, as well as with the presidents of several South American and African states.
A pro-Palestinian demonstration took place outside the United Nations building. Several prominent demonstrators were arrested, including actresses Susan Sarandon and Cynthia Nixon.
Commentators noted that the speech had been aimed primarily at the Israeli audience, 33 days before the elections, and that it had lacked a “spark of hope” or a positive message regarding peace agreements.
