Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Thursday to “denounce” the leaders of Western countries that have recognized an independent Palestinian state in his upcoming speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

“At the UN General Assembly, I will speak our truth — the truth about the citizens of Israel, the truth about our IDF soldiers and the truth about our country,” Netanyahu said early Thursday morning on the Ben Gurion Airport tarmac.

He added, “I will denounce those leaders who, instead of denouncing the murderers, rapists and child burners, want to give them a state in the heart of the Land of Israel. This will not happen.”

The matter of a Palestinian state, and the announcements of recognition in recent days of such a state from countries including the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Portugal, is expected to dominate Netanyahu’s meetings with other leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, as well as his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday.

Before boarding the plane, Netanyahu added that he and Trump would also discuss opportunities that have been created as a result of the war in Gaza, Israel’s 12-day air war with Iran in June and other military conflicts, including the prospect of improved relations with other Middle Eastern countries.

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“In Washington, I will meet for the fourth time with President Trump and discuss with him the great opportunities that our victories have brought, and also our need to complete the goals of the war: returning all of our hostages, defeating Hamas and expanding the circle of peace that has opened up following the historic victory [against Iran] in Operation Rising Lion and other victories that we have achieved,” Netanyahu said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a Rosh Hashanah address on September 22, 2025. (Itay Bet-On/GPO)

On Wednesday, the prime minister said that the string of announcements recognizing a Palestinian state is not binding on Israel.

“The shameful capitulation of some leaders to Palestinian terror does not obligate Israel in any way,” his office said in a statement on Wednesday. “There will be no Palestinian state.”

After the UK, Canada and Australia announced on Sunday that they would recognize an independent Palestine, Netanyahu accused their leaders of “handing a huge reward to terror” but said that Israel would respond to the move only upon his return from the US.

One response that members of his coalition are pushing for is for Israel to annex parts of the West Bank, and in particular, the Jordan Valley.

However, a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel earlier this week that the Trump administration has privately cautioned Israel against taking such a step in response to Western recognition of a Palestinian state.

Jerusalem did not feel that the warnings marked “an end to the discussion,” the official said, and Netanyahu was planning to discuss the matter with Trump at the White House next week.

Protesters demonstrate against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and call for the release of hostages held in Gaza, at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, ahead of Netanyahu’s departure to the UN General Assembly in New York, September 24, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

To date, the Trump administration has avoided taking a public stance regarding potential Israeli annexation of the West Bank and has argued that Western countries are to blame for Jerusalem considering the step due to their decisions to recognize a Palestinian state.

Protesters see off Netanyahu

Netanyahu’s departure for the UN was not uneventful, as hundreds of protesters gathered at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday to see him off.

Rallying both against Netanyahu and his government, and for a deal to bring the remaining 48 hostages home from Gaza, protesters waved Israeli flags and yellow banners at the entrance to the airport.

Others held images of the hostages and signs calling for Trump to pressure Netanyahu into ending the war in Gaza.

Protesters demonstrate against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and call for the release of hostages held in Gaza, at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, ahead of Netanyahu’s departure to the UN General Assembly in New York, September 24, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Other signs railed against Netanyahu’s nomination of David Zini as head of the Shin Bet security service, amid concerns from activists that he will act as a rubber stamp for the premier.

Several demonstrators wearing orange jumpsuits adorned with signs calling for Netanyahu to be jailed posed alongside others dressed as Gulf sheikhs waving around wads of cash, a reference to the allegations of covert dealings between members of Netanyahu’s office and Qatar.

People take part in a protest demanding the end of the war and immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

‘Rejection of Israel’s bipartisan security consensus’

As the premier departed for New York to argue against the recognition of a Palestinian state, his stance was backed up by a voice from across the political aisle — National Unity party head Benny Gantz, in an op-ed published by the New York Times.

In the op-ed, Gantz suggested that the trending recognition of Palestinian statehood in the international community may be aimed at repudiating Netanyahu, despite actually being “a rejection of Israel’s bipartisan security consensus.”

Gantz, a former IDF chief and defense minister, accused foreign decision-makers of viewing Israel’s policies solely through the lens of whether or not it would benefit Netanyahu, rather than Israel’s national security needs. “This view is mistaken and counterproductive to global stability, regional normalization and Israel’s own security,” he wrote.

According to Gantz, who has shown more willingness to work with Netanyahu than many others in the opposition, even joining his war cabinet for a time, “opposition to the recognition of Palestinian statehood stands at the heart of [the Israeli] consensus,” a stance that he maintains is “rooted in the hard realities of our region.”

MK Benny Gantz attends a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at “Hostage Square” in Tel Aviv, August 17, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Pointing to what happened in Gaza since Israel withdrew from the territory in 2005, he argued that the Palestinian Authority, led by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, was not up to the task of state-building, accusing it of inciting violence and glorifying terror.

“Any path forward for broader Palestinian civil autonomy must first incorporate a proven long-term track record of accountable governance, comprehensive de-radicalization reforms and a successful crackdown on terror elements targeting Israelis,” he wrote.

The former defense minister recalled being dumbfounded during a conversation with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez over his “conceptual lack of understanding” of the difference between the challenges their countries face in dealing with terror.

“There is no symmetry between defending one’s country against sporadically active terror cells in Europe and a terror pseudostate that commands territory, resources and military arsenals, backed by a country like Iran that openly declares its ambition to annihilate us and fueled by a radical Islamist ideological backbone,” Gantz wrote.

The episode, he said, “reinforced my understanding of the extent to which Israel’s security challenges are severely underestimated by the international community.”

According to Gantz, the majority of Israelis oppose the recognition of a Palestinian state, not because of “personal politics,” but because they are “contending with the challenges of a new era” in a post-October 7 world.

Gantz also used the platform to reiterate his stances in support of a long-term Israeli military presence inside Gaza along its perimeter, to keep Hamas from regrouping, and said “Israel must prepare to assume formal control over the strategic Jordan Valley in the West Bank,” claiming that both are needed to prevent a recurrence of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.