US Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz has criticised diplomats who walked out of the UN General Assembly hall as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address, accusing them of applying different standards to Israel and Iran.
In a post on X, Waltz noted that it was “Terrible to see all these Ambassadors to the UN walk out on Israel.”
“Not nearly as many walked out on Iran yesterday – even after they machine gunned 40,000 of their own people.”
Mike Waltz
Waltz’s comments came after dozens of diplomats left the General Assembly hall as Netanyahu took the podium, in a visible display of opposition to Israel’s conduct in the Gaza war.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s address followed days of speeches by world leaders who criticised Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and accused the government of orchestrating genocide against Palestinians.
As Netanyahu approached the rostrum, the chamber was met with a mixture of cheers and boos, while scores of delegates marched out. A large number of seats remained visibly empty as he began speaking.
Netanyahu responded directly to those leaving as he began his speech, saying, “If there are any other moral cowards who have not yet left this hall, please do so now.”
In his speech, Netanyahu strongly rejected allegations of genocide in Gaza, describing them as “the biggest lie of the century.” He defended Israel’s military response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, which killed about 1,200 people.
Comparing the scale of the attack to the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, Netanyahu said it was equivalent to “40,000 innocent Americans slaughtered in less than 24 hours.”
He argued that the October 7 attack left Israel with no alternative but to launch a major military campaign against Hamas. Israel has faced accusations from governments and international organisations of committing war crimes in Gaza, while Netanyahu is also subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity.
Netanyahu also defended Israel’s military action against Iran, describing the decision to attack the country as “one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make.”
He argued that Israel’s actions were also intended to protect countries whose representatives had walked out of the General Assembly.
“In defending itself, Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall. In fact, I want you to know that many of their leaders even thank us privately for taking out Iran’s nukes.”
Benjamin Netanyahu
While the conflict with Iran has disrupted the global economy and remained unresolved, Netanyahu maintained that Israel had made the right decision. He also thanked US President Donald Trump for what he described as decisive action against Iran and predicted that Iran’s theocratic government would eventually fall.
During his address, Netanyahu also used one of visual aids, holding up a pager while referring to the September 2024 attack in which thousands of pagers used by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon were remotely detonated. The attack killed 12 people, including two children, and injured more than 3,000 others.
Netanyahu further addressed Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, describing those responsible as a “handful of young juvenile delinquents” involved in acts such as throwing stones, cutting down olive trees and setting fires. “I can’t stand that. I won’t stand for vigilantism,” Netanyahu said, while accusing foreign leaders and international media organisations of exaggerating the extent of violence in the West Bank.
Netanyahu Accuses Mamdani Of Endangering New York Jews
Netanyahu also used his UN address to directly attack New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of spreading what he described as false claims about Israel and contributing to concerns over the safety of Jewish New Yorkers.
Referring to Mamdani as “the antisemitic Mayor of New York,” Netanyahu said that the Mayor’s criticism of Israel’s military operations had contributed to an environment in which some Jewish residents no longer felt safe.
“Mr. Mamdani, since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York. They talk to me, they tell me ‘this isn’t the city we remember, it changed so quickly.’”
Benjamin Netanyahu
The exchange followed comments by Mamdani before Netanyahu’s arrival in New York, when the Mayor described the Israeli Prime Minister as a “war criminal” and called for his arrest.
Mamdani has acknowledged that New York City does not have the authority to enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant but has urged federal authorities to act on it.
Netanyahu accused Mamdani of attempting to prevent him from travelling to New York and of trying to silence him.
“Mr. Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me and you can’t silence the truth.”
Benjamin Netanyahu
Netanyahu’s confrontation with Mamdani added a domestic US political dimension to an address otherwise dominated by Israel’s wars in Gaza and Iran, as well as his defence of Israel against mounting international criticism.
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