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Netanyahu assails foes and allies at the UN, and dozens of envoys walk out
September 25, 2026
Israel's prime minister attacked Iran, Britain, France and Turkey in a UN General Assembly address on Thursday, and dozens of envoys walked out of the chamber.
Netanyahu is Israel's prime minister. In 2024 the International Criminal Court found reasonable grounds to believe he bore responsibility for war crimes in Israel's Gaza campaign, which followed Hamas' October 7, 2023 attacks.
Key facts
- In 2024 the International Criminal Court in The Hague said it saw reasonable grounds to hold Netanyahu responsible for war crimes in Gaza, where Israel's campaign followed the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.
- CNA reports that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, gave a combative address at the UN on Thursday, September 24, that attacked both adversaries and friends and set off an uproar in the hall while he faces a hard reelection fight in Israel.
- Netanyahu faces a close contest to keep office in the October 27 elections, and he used the UN General Assembly stage to criticize targets ranging from Iran's leadership to the first Muslim mayor of New York, as well as Britain, France and Turkey.
- Netanyahu also aimed criticism at Britain and France, longtime Israeli partners whose own public objections to Israel have grown sharper.
- Netanyahu held up a pager while speaking, a device of the kind Israeli intelligence is reported to have rigged with explosives and sent to members of Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group backed by Iran.
AFP reports that Benjamin Netanyahu used his UN General Assembly address on Thursday to go after Iran's leaders, New York's first Muslim mayor, and partners Britain, France and Turkey, all while he fights for his office ahead of the October 27 elections. CNA, a state-backed conglomerate, carries the same account of a combative address that set off uproar in the chamber, and the day's coverage from France 24, meanwhile, centers on the prime minister's expected broadside at friend and foe alike. Dozens of envoys left the hall, some booing, while his own delegation stood to applaud. Netanyahu answered them directly: "If there are any other moral cowards who haven't left this hall, please do so now." The New York Times headline centers on that jibe at his critics.
AFP and CNA both describe Netanyahu holding up a pager like the devices Israeli intelligence is said to have rigged with explosives before they reached Hezbollah operatives. France 24 and NPR agree on the pager moment, and NPR adds an interview with a former US ambassador to Israel on the address. AFP also reports a video message from Mahmoud Abbas played before the speech, in which he said, "We reject these unlawful punitive measures, and we reject the accusations and justifications on which they were based." Outside, AFP and CNA report dozens of protesters near the UN, some carrying banners that read "stop the genocide." Al Jazeera headlines the same attack on enemies and allies.
The outlets agree on what happened in the hall: the targets Netanyahu named, the walkout, the pager and the taunt. None of them diverges on substance. What the address does for his reelection bid is not something any outlet measures.
In a recorded video shown before the speech, Abbas said, “We reject these unlawful punitive measures, and we reject the accusations and justifications on which they were based.”
Abbas
Still developing
Netanyahu's reelection campaign is where the account stands by the time of draft.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- afp.com — Israel's Netanyahu denounces enemies, allies in fiery UN speech - afp.com
- Fox News — WATCH: Mass walkout before Netanyahu speech prompts fiery response from Israeli prime minister
- CNA — Israel's Netanyahu denounces enemies, allies in fiery UN speech - CNA
- France 24 — Israel's Netanyahu expected to denounce enemies, allies with UN spotlight - France 24
- NPR — Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel on Netanyahu's speech at UNGA
- Al Jazeera — Benjamin Netanyahu attacks Israel’s enemies and allies in UN speech
Toggle read the full reports of 5 of the 8 outlets counted on this event. The other 3 are counted from their headlines and opening sentences.