Delegates walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall in New York on Thursday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address, during which he defended Israel’s military action against Iran.
Netanyahu could be seen walking toward the podium as several delegations exited the hall. The walkout followed a call from the Palestinian Mission to the UN urging representatives to leave during Netanyahu’s address.
In response to the departures, Netanyahu remarked, “If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left the hall, please do so now.”
Defending Israel’s military action against Iran, he said that striking the country’s nuclear facilities was challenging, yet he called the decision one of the easiest he had made as prime minister.
“Devastating Iran’s nuclear facilities was hard. It was very hard to do,” Netanyahu said.
“But for me, it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make as Prime Minister,” he added.
Netanyahu stated that Israel’s action was necessary because, in his view, failing to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities would have threatened Israel and other countries.
“Because if we hadn’t done it, we’d all be dead,” he said.
He further asserted that Israel’s military operations were profiting the nations whose delegates had exited the General Assembly.
“In defending itself, Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall,” Netanyahu said.
He also stated that some foreign leaders had privately thanked Israel for attacking Iran’s nuclear program.
“In fact, I want you to know that many of their leaders even thank us privately for taking out Iran’s nukes,” he said.
Netanyahu called the reaction “mind-blowing hypocrisy,” remarking, “It’s hard to imagine more mind-blowing hypocrisy, but that’s exactly what it is.”
In his speech, the Israeli prime minister also recounted Israel’s experience during the 1967 Six-Day War and what he characterized as the nation’s enduring fight to survive.
He remembered his brother, Yoni Netanyahu, an Israeli paratroop officer who would go on to lead the 1976 Entebbe hostage rescue operation in Uganda.
Reflecting on a conversation with his brother prior to the Six-Day War, Netanyahu said he had asked him what he believed would unfold.
“He paused, and then he said something I’ll never forget. We’re going to win,” Netanyahu said.
He went on to say that his brother had told him, “We have no other choice.”
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Netanyahu also brought up the 1976 hijacking of an Air France passenger plane to Entebbe, noting that Israeli forces subsequently rescued 103 hostages.
“And then, on July 4th, 1976, the Bicentennial of the United States, in one of the most dramatic rescue missions in modern times, Yoni led his brave soldiers to the heart of Africa,” he said.
He added, “Miraculously, they rescued 103 Jewish hostages and brought them all home, every single one of them.”
This walkout marked the most recent interruption at this year’s UN General Assembly.
On Tuesday, the Iranian delegation exited the hall while US President Donald Trump was speaking, after he warned that Iran would be “annihilated” if Tehran did not strike a deal with Washington.
The Cuban delegation likewise walked out at a later point during Trump’s speech.
Netanyahu delivered his address as the US-Israel war with Iran continued and Israel faced international criticism over its military actions.
