Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Netanyahu\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Colombia\u2019s 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 Jan\u0161a, and the first Israeli embassy in the country was inaugurated in Ljubljana in early September.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chile also restored full diplomatic ties with Israel after newly elected President Jos\u00e9 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.<\/p>\n
Addressing those leaving the chamber, Netanyahu said, \u201cIf there are any other moral cowards who haven\u2019t left the hall, please do so now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
During his speech, Netanyahu defended Israeli military operations, including strikes on Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities, as necessary for Israel\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Turkey subsequently rejected Netanyahu\u2019s comments about Erdogan, whom the Israeli leader called a \u201ctyrant,\u201d accused of aligning with Hamas and suggested was seeking to take over Jerusalem.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Turkish presidency communications director Burhanettin Duran said Netanyahu\u2019s accusations were \u201cincompatible\u201d with the UN\u2019s \u201cideals of peace, law and dialogue,\u201d Anadolu reported. He added that Netanyahu\u2019s words could not \u201cmake his massacres, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the proceedings before international law invisible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Qatari Deputy Ambassador to the US Hamad Al-Muftah also criticized the address, describing the chamber as a \u201chalf-empty room\u201d that \u201csays plenty about the support for this message.\u201d He rejected Netanyahu\u2019s claims about Qatari university funding and defended Doha\u2019s contacts with Hamas as part of mediation efforts involving the US, Egypt and Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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