\u201cMr. Mamdani, since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York,\u201d he said. \u201cThey talk to me, they tell me, \u2018This isn\u2019t the city we remember. It changed so quickly.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Netanyahu insisted his war with Palestine was no genocide, contrary to Mamdani\u2019s position. He called those who left the General Assembly Hall to protest him \u201cmoral cowards\u201d who should instead be thanking him for kneecapping Iran\u2019s nuclear program<\/a>.<\/p>\n By land mass, Israel takes up but a small percentage of the Arab world, Netanyahu added.<\/p>\n \u201cYet they accuse us, tiny Israel, of colonialism,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd who\u2019s accusing us? Among them are people in Britain and in France. For God\u2019s sake, they invented the term.\u201d<\/p>\n While tension between Israel and Palestine has persisted for decades, it escalated significantly after the events of Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups killed 1,200 people in Israel. Netanyahu on Thursday called it \u201cthe darkest day in Israel\u2019s history\u201d and said it was, proportional to the U.S. population, equivalent to \u201c16 9\/11s\u201d for Israel.<\/p>\n In response to the attack, Israel launched an ongoing bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip that has leveled civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and apartment buildings. Israeli officials have argued Hamas uses these soft targets as cover, claims repeated by Netanyahu during his speech at the U.N.<\/p>\n In 2024, Israel detonated hundreds of beepers, sold by a Mossad shell company, across Lebanon and Syria in a targeted attack on Hezbollah combatants. The unprecedented operation killed 42, including 12 civilians, and left more than 3,500 injured.<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael\u2019s hammered Hamas; we pummeled Hezbollah. You remember the beepers?\u201d Netanyahu quipped, referencing the attack. \u201cWell, I can tell you this, Hezbollah certainly remembers them.\u201d<\/p>\n The prime minister\u2019s speech came just hours after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who was denied a visa to enter the U.S. for a second year in a row, addressed the General Assembly via pre-recorded video Thursday morning. Abbas argued Israel\u2019s military operations were indeed \u201ca war of genocide\u201d and warned settlements in the West Bank are rapidly expanding.<\/p>\n \u201cFor how long will some states continue to remain silent about Israel, or supply it with the weapons it uses against our people?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n Abbas added that he supported President Donald Trump\u2019s 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, but has yet to see it materialize. During his speech, Netanyahu lauded Trump for his partnership. The United States continues to supply the most arms and munitions to Israel of any other nation.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this battle against the barbarians, we\u2019ve had no greater partner than President Trump,\u201d Netanyahu said.<\/p>\n Pro-Palestinian protests raged in Manhattan as Netanyahu spoke. More than 100 were reportedly<\/a> arrested, including several celebrities and local politicians.<\/p>\n Our weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing
\nFollow @Uebey<\/a>
\n![](\"\/wp-content\/themes\/cns\/img\/bluesky-white-icon.svg\"\/){kind=icon}
\nFollow @uebey.bsky.social<\/a>Subscribe to our free newsletters<\/p>\n
\ntrials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world,
\nwhile the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood,
\nsports, Big Tech and the arts.<\/p>\n