Benjamin Netanyahu attacks Israel’s enemies and allies in UN speech

Israeli prime minister denounces Iran, NYC Mayor Mamdani and critics accusing Israel of violations against Palestinians.

Delegates walk out of Netanyahu’s UN speech

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has used his platform at the United Nations General Assembly to attack detractors and allies alike, and his presence sparked uproar in the chamber.

Speaking before the UNGA on Thursday, Netanyahu attacked New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, critics and Iran’s leadership, as well as allied countries like the United Kingdom and France.

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Back home, the prime minister is locked in a tight race to stay in power ahead of an election on October 27, and analysts say his UNGA speech was aimed as much at people back home as it was at international viewers.

Dozens of envoys from around the world walked out as the speech began, some jeering and booing, while Netanyahu’s own team stood and applauded, and the speaker of the session shouted for order.

“If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left this hall, please do so now,” Netanyahu said to those turning their backs on him.

He addressed the war that the US and Israel launched on Iran in February, saying: “Devastating Iran’s nuclear facilities was hard, was very hard to do.”

“But for me, it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make as prime minister”, claiming that if he had not, “we’d all be dead”, he added.

In his own speech before the UNGA on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also addressed the nuclear issue and called out the “double standard”.

“The nuclear weapon is in Israel, but the inspectors are in Iran. Israel kills, but Iran is subject to sanctions,” Pezeshkian said.

Netanyahu on Thursday said that Israel was fighting a “seven-front war”, including Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen’s Houthis and militias in Iraq.

“We are going to win. We have no other choice,” Netanyahu declared, repeating the words of his older brother Yonatan Netanyahu, who was killed in 1976 during Operation Entebbe in Uganda.

The United Kingdom and France, historic partners of Israel, were also in Netanyahu’s firing line. They have become increasingly outspoken in their criticism of the country’s actions and have both imposed limited sanctions on Israeli exports from the occupied West Bank.

“They accuse Israel, tiny Israel, of colonialism – some colonialism. And who’s accusing us? Among them are people in Britain and in France. For God’s sakes, they invented the term,” he said.

But Netanyahu thanked his “friend”, United States President Donald Trump.

“In this battle against the barbarians, we’ve had no greater partner than President Trump,” he said, as the US delegation joined the Israeli one in applauding Netanyahu’s remark.

“I thank him,” said Netanyahu, adding that Israel and the US had acted together as pilots from both countries “flew joint missions over the skies of Iran”.

Netanyahu said the US and Israel also “worked together to bring back our remaining hostages [from Gaza]”, as he defended Israeli actions in the enclave against charges of genocide.

“To all those spreading lies about my country, whether they sit in this hall or in the office of the anti-Semitic mayor of New York, I say this: shame on you,” Netanyahu said as he attacked Zohran Mamdani, who had previously said he would push for the arrest of the Israeli prime minister during his visit to the city.

“Mr Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me,” Netanyahu said as he denied that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.

Reacting to Netanyahu’s comments, Mamdani called the accusations against him “baseless lies” meant to “sanitise his genocide of Palestinians”.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has faced repeated accusations of genocide in Gaza, as well as systematic war crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) said in 2024 it had reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu was responsible for war crimes in Gaza, where over 73,000 Palestinians have been killed. Netanyahu denies the ICC charges.

Netanyahu attended the UNGA meeting despite an ICC warrant calling for his arrest. While he was welcomed, the Trump administration denied a visa for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who addressed the UNGA through a prerecorded video statement from Ramallah earlier in the day.

As Netanyahu spoke, activists from US-based organisation Jewish Voice for Peace protested outside, accusing the United Nations of “playing host to a war criminal”.

“All across New York, Jews, Palestinians and people of conscience are rising up to demand an end to US support for the livestreamed horrors, rigged ceasefires and forever wars,” Sonya Meyerson-Knox, the group’s communications director, told Al Jazeera.

Meyerson-Knox said that “solidarity with Palestinian freedom has never been greater, and here in the US we are demanding with one voice to stop arming Israel”.

Adding to tensions, dozens of protesters, some brandishing “stop the genocide” banners, gathered near the UN. Several demonstrators were detained, including prominent actor Susan Sarandon.

Inside the UN, but addressing divisions back home in Israel, Netanyahu said: “Throughout this long war, our goal never wavers – to win with unwavering resolve … What unites us is so much stronger: our history, our values, our courage.”

Ariel Cohen, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, said the Israeli prime minister delivered a “good speech” at the UNGA but that he did so in the “wrong forum”.

“That speech should be given at an election rally in Israel; this is who he’s communicating to,” Cohen told Al Jazeera. “He is making points that should be made to the Israeli audience for his political survival.”

Netanyahu is only making a whirlwind stop in New York before rushing back to Israel, where the election campaign is in full swing. He is not scheduled to meet any top US leaders.

以色列总理谴责伊朗、纽约市长马姆达尼以及批评以色列侵犯巴勒斯坦人权利的人士。

代表们退出了内塔尼亚胡在联合国的演讲

以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡利用他在联合国大会上的平台，攻击批评者和盟友，他的出现引起了大会的骚动。

内塔尼亚胡周四在联合国大会上发表讲话，抨击了纽约市市长佐兰·马姆达尼、批评者和伊朗领导层，以及英国和法国等盟国。

阿巴斯在联合国表示，以色列的政策威胁巴勒斯坦人的“生存”，这是其中三项政策中的第一项。

以色列采取行动，禁止巴勒斯坦主导的主要候选人名单参加选举（共3份名单，这是第2份）。

内塔尼亚胡将西岸被占领地区的暴力事件归咎于“青少年罪犯”，这是名单上的第三条（共三条）。

国内，首相正面临着一场激烈的权力争夺战，力图在 10 月 27 日的大选前保住权力。分析人士称，他在联合国大会上的演讲既是面向国内民众，也是面向国际观众。

演讲开始时，来自世界各地的数十名使节愤然离席，一些人还发出嘲笑和嘘声，而内塔尼亚胡自己的团队则起立鼓掌，会议发言人大声维持秩序。

“如果还有其他道德懦夫还没有离开这个大厅，请现在就离开，”内塔尼亚胡对那些背对着他的人说道。

他谈到了美国和以色列在二月份对伊朗发动的战争，他说：“摧毁伊朗的核设施很困难，非常困难。”

“但对我来说，这是我担任首相以来最容易做出的决定之一”，他还声称，如果他没有做出这个决定，“我们都会死”。

伊朗总统马苏德·佩泽什基安周三在联合国大会上发表讲话时也谈到了核问题，并谴责了“双重标准”。

佩泽什基安说：“核武器在以色列，但核查人员在伊朗。以色列杀人，但伊朗却受到制裁。”

内塔尼亚胡周四表示，以色列正在打一场“七线战争”，其中包括加沙、被占领的西岸、叙利亚、黎巴嫩、伊朗、也门胡塞武装和伊拉克境内的民兵组织。

“我们一定会赢。我们别无选择，”内塔尼亚胡宣称，重复了他哥哥约纳坦·内塔尼亚胡的话，约纳坦·内塔尼亚胡于 1976 年在乌干达恩德培行动中丧生。

英国和法国作为以色列的历史盟友，也成为了内塔尼亚胡的攻击目标。两国对以色列的行动批评日益公开，并对以色列从被占领的西岸地区出口的商品实施了有限的制裁。

“他们指责以色列，这个小小的以色列，搞殖民主义——某种程度上的殖民主义。而是谁在指责我们？其中就包括英国人和法国人。我的天哪，这个词可是他们发明的，”他说。

但内塔尼亚胡感谢了他的“朋友”、美国总统唐纳德·特朗普。

“在这场与野蛮人的战斗中，我们没有比特朗普总统更伟大的伙伴，”他说，美国代表团与以色列代表团一起为内塔尼亚胡的讲话鼓掌。

内塔尼亚胡说：“我感谢他。”他还补充说，以色列和美国曾共同行动，两国飞行员“在伊朗上空执行了联合飞行任务”。

内塔尼亚胡表示，美国和以色列也“共同努力，从加沙带回了我们剩余的人质”，同时他为以色列在加沙地带的行动辩护，否认了种族灭绝的指控。

“对于所有散布关于我国家谎言的人，无论他们是坐在这个大厅里，还是坐在纽约市反犹太主义市长的办公室里，我都要说：你们真可耻！”内塔尼亚胡在抨击佐兰·马姆达尼时说道。马姆达尼此前曾表示，他将在以色列总理访问纽约市期间推动逮捕他。

“马姆达尼先生，你曾试图阻止我来到这里。你曾试图让我噤声。但是，你无法让我噤声，”内塔尼亚胡说道，同时否认以色列在加沙犯下了种族灭绝罪行。

针对内塔尼亚胡的言论，马姆达尼称对他的指控是“毫无根据的谎言”，意在“掩盖他对巴勒斯坦人的种族灭绝”。

自 2023 年 10 月 7 日以来，以色列不断面临在加沙犯下种族灭绝罪以及在加沙和被占领的西岸犯下系统性战争罪行的指控。

位于海牙的国际刑事法院（ICC）在2024年表示，有合理理由相信内塔尼亚胡应对加沙地带的战争罪行负责，那里已有超过73000名巴勒斯坦人丧生。内塔尼亚胡否认了国际刑事法院的指控。

尽管国际刑事法院已发出逮捕令，内塔尼亚胡仍出席了联合国大会。他受到欢迎，但特朗普政府拒绝向巴勒斯坦总统马哈茂德·阿巴斯发放签证。阿巴斯当天早些时候在拉马拉通过预先录制的视频向联合国大会发表了讲话。

内塔尼亚胡发表讲话时，总部位于美国的“犹太和平之声”组织的活动人士在外面举行抗议，指责联合国“庇护战争罪犯”。

“在整个纽约，犹太人、巴勒斯坦人和有良知的人们正在奋起反抗，要求美国停止支持那些被直播的恐怖事件、被操纵的停火协议和永无休止的战争，”该组织的通讯主管索尼娅·梅耶森-诺克斯告诉半岛电视台。

梅耶森-诺克斯表示，“我们从未如此声援巴勒斯坦人的自由，在美国，我们齐声要求停止向以色列提供武器”。

令紧张局势雪上加霜的是，数十名抗议者聚集在联合国附近，其中一些人挥舞着“停止种族灭绝”的标语。包括著名演员苏珊·萨兰登在内的几名示威者被拘留。

在联合国大会上，内塔尼亚胡在谈到以色列国内的分裂时说：“在这场漫长的战争中，我们的目标从未动摇——以坚定不移的决心赢得胜利……将我们团结在一起的，是更强大的力量：我们的历史、我们的价值观、我们的勇气。”

大西洋理事会欧亚中心高级研究员阿里尔·科恩表示，以色列总理在联合国大会上发表了“精彩的演讲”，但他选错了场合。

科恩告诉半岛电视台：“他应该在以色列的竞选集会上发表那篇演讲；这才是他真正想传达信息的对象。他所​​表达的观点，对于他的政治前途至关重要，必须向以色列民众传达。”

内塔尼亚胡此次纽约之行只是短暂的停留，之后将匆匆返回以色列，以色列的总统竞选活动正在如火如荼地进行。他没有安排与任何美国高层领导人会面。