As his speech began, delegations from several countries walked out of the UN General Assembly hall in protest against Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
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Before he arrived to deliver his speech before the United Nations General Assembly at its 81st session, various locations around New York and streets near the United Nations headquarters witnessed mass protests and demonstrations, chanting slogans rejecting Netanyahu’s appearance at the United Nations podium and accusing him of committing “genocide” in Gaza.
Anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews carrying signs describing Netanyahu as a "war criminal" participated in the protests, along with American and Israeli Jewish opposition groups, as well as Western and Palestinian organizations that reject the war on Gaza, raising slogans including: "Stop arming Israel, let Gaza live."
The Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported that "huge crowds left the UN General Assembly hall as soon as Netanyahu took to the podium, even before he began his speech."
While Israel's Channel 12 published a photo of Netanyahu's speech from the United Nations headquarters in New York, showing that most of the seats were empty, Netanyahu has been wanted since 2024 to appear before the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Palestinians in Gaza.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
In his speech, Netanyahu defended the attacks and violence of Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, claiming that some Israelis were "acting in self-defense," while criticizing the international media for describing it as "settler violence."
In recent times, international condemnations of attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank have escalated.
Netanyahu focused a large part of his speech on defending Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and other fronts, amid escalating international criticism of his government and its policies.
He also defended Israeli attacks in Lebanon and Syria, and responded to criticisms made by a number of world leaders during their speeches before the General Assembly.
Netanyahu attacked many countries around the world, including Türkiye, Qatar, Syria, France, Britain, and Iran, as well as New York Mayor Zahran Mamdani.
Mamdani had previously called on the US federal authorities to implement the arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court, while acknowledging that the New York City authorities do not have the authority to implement it themselves.
Yedioth Ahronoth explained that most of Netanyahu’s speech was aimed at winning over the Israeli voter in light of opinion polls indicating that the opposition bloc is ahead of Netanyahu’s coalition, without a majority that would allow any party to form a government in the general elections scheduled for October 27.
Netanyahu's visit to New York comes amid widespread international criticism of Israel over the genocidal war in Gaza, while the Times of Israel said that Netanyahu's speech to the General Assembly could represent an opportunity to improve Tel Aviv's image before the international community, and his image before his voters.
The newspaper noted that Netanyahu’s agenda in New York is limited to delivering the speech, without holding a meeting with US President Donald Trump, despite previous attempts to arrange a meeting between them, and that he will return to Israel on the same day without staying overnight in the American city.
She added that Netanyahu, who has delivered 14 speeches before the United Nations General Assembly, may be giving his last speech now, given what she described as the "diplomatic isolation" that Israel is facing.
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