UNITED NATIONS, Sep 26 (APP): Israeli Prime Minister, who has an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him for war crimes, declared in his defiant speech to the UN General Assembly Friday that he will press on with the war in Gaza until Hamas is eliminated as delegates of many countries, including Pakistan, walked out in protest.
As the session’s chairman called for order in the iconic hall of the 193-member Assembly, there were loud boos from opponents and also some cheers from Israeli supporters while delegates streamed out, leaving masses of empty seats, reflecting growing international isolation over his refusal to end the devastating war in Gaza.
The US delegation, which has backed Netanyahu in his campaign against Hamas, stayed in the hall. The few world powers there, the United States and the United Kingdom, did not send their most senior officials or even their UN ambassador to their section. Instead, it was filled out with more junior, low-level diplomats.
Since Oct 7 2023, the Israeli army has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.
“Antisemitism dies hard. In fact, it doesn’t die at all,” Netanyahu insisted. (Netanyahu routinely accuses his critics of antisemitism.)
Meanwhile, Palestinian leaders and factions have forcefully condemned Netanyahu’s speech, calling it full of “blatant lies and contradictions”.
In his remarks, Netanyahu also frequently praised President Donald Trump, his chief ally in his political and military approach in the region. Netanyahu said the changes across the Mideast have created new opportunities. He said Israel had begun negotiations with Syria aimed at reaching security arrangements with the country’s new government.
The Israeli prime minister asserted he believes the Middle East will look “dramatically different” in the near future.
“Many of those who wage war on Israel today will be gone tomorrow,” he warned. “Brave peacemakers will take their place and nowhere, nowhere will this be more true than in Iran.”
“And our two ancient peoples, the people of Israel and the people of Iran, will restore a friendship that will benefit the entire world,” he claimed.
Netanyahu called on the Lebanese government to begin talks with Israel, which he said his country has already launched with Syria.
“I call on the Lebanese government to also begin direct negotiations with Israel,” he said. “I commend it for its declared aim to disarm Hezbollah, but we need more than words.”
“If Lebanon takes genuine and sustained action to disarm Hezbollah, I’m sure we can achieve a sustainable peace,” he added.
After more than a year of fighting between Lebanon and Israel, the two countries entered into a cease-fire agreement in November 2024.
Netanyahu criticized the leaders of several nations who recognized a Palestinian state this week, saying it sends a clear message that “murdering Jews pays off.”
“This week, the leaders of France, Britain, Australia, Canada and other countries unconditionally recognized a Palestinian state,” he said. “They did so after the horrors committed by Hamas on Oct. 7.”
Netanyahu said his message to the leaders of those countries is, “when the most savage terrorists on Earth are exclusively praising your decision: You didn’t do something right, you did something wrong, horribly wrong.”
“Your disgraceful decision will encourage terrorism against Jews and against innocent people everywhere,” he said. “It will be a mark of shame on all of you.”
In his strongly worded speech, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering support to the Palestinians’ inalienable right to self-determination and statehood.