Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel’s military campaigns and rejected genocide accusations at the UN General Assembly on Thursday night as delegates from at least 77 countries walked out during his address.
Netanyahu’s speech drew both applause and boos as representatives left the hall, with most of the walkouts coming from Arab and non-Arab African countries. Delegations from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, South Africa, Uganda and Kenya were among those that exited, along with representatives from Latin American countries including Brazil, Chile and Colombia.
Colombia’s departure came despite the fact that full diplomatic relations with Israel were restored following the election of President Abelardo de la Espriella. Representatives from six European countries also walked out, including Spain, Ireland and Slovenia. Slovenia reversed sanctions against Israel following the electoral victory of Prime Minister Janez Janša, and the first Israeli embassy in the country was inaugurated in Ljubljana in early September.
Chile also restored full diplomatic ties with Israel after newly elected President José Antonio Kast reversed the anti-Israel policies of the previous administration. This shift ended a three-year vacancy by officially appointing Gabriel Zaliasnik as the new Chilean ambassador.
Addressing those leaving the chamber, Netanyahu said, “If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left the hall, please do so now.”
During his speech, Netanyahu defended Israeli military operations, including strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, as necessary for Israel’s survival. He rejected genocide allegations over the Gaza war as disinformation and criticized several foreign leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Turkey subsequently rejected Netanyahu’s comments about Erdogan, whom the Israeli leader called a “tyrant,” accused of aligning with Hamas and suggested was seeking to take over Jerusalem.
Turkish presidency communications director Burhanettin Duran said Netanyahu’s accusations were “incompatible” with the UN’s “ideals of peace, law and dialogue,” Anadolu reported. He added that Netanyahu’s words could not “make his massacres, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the proceedings before international law invisible.”
Qatari Deputy Ambassador to the US Hamad Al-Muftah also criticized the address, describing the chamber as a “half-empty room” that “says plenty about the support for this message.” He rejected Netanyahu’s claims about Qatari university funding and defended Doha’s contacts with Hamas as part of mediation efforts involving the US, Egypt and Israel.