In an angry address to the United Nations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Friday, September 26, to block a Palestinian state, accusing European leaders of pushing his country into “national suicide” and rewarding Hamas.
The UN General Assembly saw Netanyahu express his frustration about Western leaders’ acceptance of a state of Palestine, given the current Hamas ‘administration’ in Gaza—even while seeming to commemorate those taken hostage by the terrorists.
Multiple delegations walked out immediately when he started speaking—as if to prove him right about the very real problem of antisemitism (which is, lest we forget, at the heart of the Hamas founding charter). As the Israeli PM walked up to the General Assembly rostrum, a number of delegates immediately stormed off—meaning they had attended just to leave, since Netanyahu was the day’s first speaker.
Days after France, Britain, and other Western powers recognized a state of Palestine, Netanyahu said that they had sent “a very clear message that murdering Jews pays off:”
Israel will not allow you to shove a terrorist state down our throats. We will not commit national suicide because you don’t have the guts to face down the hostile media and antisemitic mobs demanding Israel’s blood.
Hamas led the worst-ever attack on Israel on October 7, 2023—and the single worst day of Jewish casualties since the Holocaust—triggering an Israeli counteroffensive in Gaza. Netanyahu said that his speech was broadcast in part on loudspeaker in Gaza, in the hope of reaching both Hamas leaders and hostages still held since the October 7 pogrom. Switching briefly to Hebrew, he declared
We have not forgotten you—not even for a second. The entire nation is with you, and we will not be silent or let up until we bring you all home, the living and the dead alike.
U.S. president Donald Trump, normally an ally of Netanyahu, has warned against the annexation of Gaza by Israel as he pitches his own peace plan for the region, that would include the disarmament of Hamas. The two leaders will meet on Monday, September 29, in Washington.
Netanyahu’s speech came shortly before Trump declared of Gaza “I think we have a deal.”
