Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing delegates at UNGA on Friday, September 26, 2025
Delegates staged a walkout at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday as Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, rejected the prospect of Palestinian statehood in an address that drew boos and interruptions.
The unusual protest came as Netanyahu took the podium, prompting a UN official to call for calm before he continued.
The Israeli leader went on to denounce recent recognitions of Palestine by some countries as “shameful, sheer madness and insane”, warning they would embolden extremists worldwide.
Netanyahu compared the push for Palestinian statehood after Hamas’s October 7 assault to offering al Qaeda a state near New York City after the September 11 attacks.
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“Your disgraceful decision will encourage terrorism against Jews and against innocent people everywhere. It will be a mark of shame on all of you,” he said.
“What you’re doing is giving the ultimate reward to intolerant fanatics who perpetrated and supported the Sabbath massacre.
”Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after October 7 is like giving al Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after September 11.”
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Netanyahu said Israel would not allow nations to “shove a terror state” down their throat.
“We will not commit national suicide because you don’t have the guts to face down a hostile media and antisemitic mobs demanding Israel’s blood,” he added.
The Israeli prime minister slammed international criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza and accused world leaders of caving into “biased media, radical Islamist constituencies and anti-semitic mobs”.
Hamas said the mass walkout of delegations before Netanyahu’s speech showed Israel’s “isolation” as a result of the Gaza war.
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