Mass walkout at UN General Assembly as Netanyahu begins address and blasts 'moral cowards' for leaving
Netanyahu criticised Britain's colonial history, thanked Donald Trump and denied accusations of genocide in Gaza.
Dozens of delegates at the United Nations walked out of the hall when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his speech to the General Assembly meeting of world leaders on Thursday.
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Describing them as "moral cowards," he asked for anybody else who felt that way to leave before he began to talk.
In his address, Netanyahu insisted Israel had taken "innumerable steps" to protect Palestinians, and said Israeli action was "the opposite of genocide."
He accused the city's mayor, Zohran Mamdani, of being antisemitic, saying: "To all those spreading lies about my country and its brave soldiers, whether they sit in this hall, or in the antisemitic office of the mayor of New York, I say this: Shame on you.
"Shame on you for distorting the facts. Shame on you for inverting victim and aggressor. Shame on you for spitting in the face of truth.”
“Mr Mamdani, since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York," Netanyahu added.
He hailed the IDF as “the most moral army in the world” and accused foreign countries of spending "untold billions to spread lies about my country.”
He began his address by recalling his vow from 14 years ago to "prevent Iran's murderous dictatorship from developing atomic bombs, nuclear weapons aimed at destroying Israel, nuclear weapons that could threaten the entire world".
"That's exactly what we did," he said.
Speaking about Israel’s strikes on Iran, Mr Netanyahu said that “in defending itself, Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates have just left this hall".
He claimed that in private, many representing these countries have thanked Israel for “taking out Iran’s nukes”.
“It’s hard to imagine more mind-blowing hypocrisy. But that is what it is,” he said.
Mr Netanyahu also thanked US President Donald Trump saying they have no greater partner than him.
He was critical of other countries in the world and referenced Israel's comparatively small geographic size.
He said: "We were in a tiny sliver of land. We still are. That is equal to about a third of 1% of the landmass of the entire Arab world.
"Yet they accuse Israel, tiny Israel, of colonialism. Some colonialism. And who's accusing us? Well, among them are people in Britain and in France. For God's sakes, they invented the term.
"Their colonies braced the entire globe. Colonialism. Give us a break. Another lie."