Netanyahu Tells UN Gaza Genocide Claims Are 'Biggest Lie of the Century' as Dozens Walk Out
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a mass walkout at the UN General Assembly as he rejected genocide accusations over Gaza, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned by video that his people face an existential threat.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, angrily rejecting accusations of genocide in Gaza and calling the allegations "the biggest lie of the century" [249716][249393]. As he spoke, dozens of delegations walked out of the hall in protest [249393][249716]. Netanyahu later called the delegates who left "moral cowards" [249533].
The walkout reflected growing international criticism of Israel's military campaign in Gaza [249533]. Nearly a year after a ceasefire was supposed to end the war, life in Gaza remains desperate for two million Palestinians [249205].
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also addressed the assembly, but by video after the United States denied visas to the Palestinian delegation for the second consecutive year [249177][249293]. Abbas said the visa denial "constitutes a violation of the United States' obligation as host country" [249293].
Abbas warned that the Palestinian people face "one of the most dangerous moments in their history," describing displacement, deprivation of basic rights, and what he called a "genocidal war" that has created an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe [249293]. He said Israel has destroyed neighborhoods, cities, schools, universities, hospitals, homes, mosques, and churches [249293].
"There is an even greater danger that requires international measures to stop it," Abbas warned, saying it threatens "the life and existence of the Palestinian people in their lands" [249293]. He described events in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem as "an evil colonial plan" designed to make life impossible for Palestinians [249293].
Abbas appealed to the international community: "Do not allow a new Nakba. Do not allow more massacres like 1948" [249293]. He vowed that the Palestinian people "will remain in their lands" and "will not accept displacement and will not disappear" [249177][249293].
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said he regrets the United States' decision to deny visas to Palestinian officials [244577]. The United States holds the power to grant or refuse visas for people traveling to UN headquarters in New York [244577].
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized Netanyahu's speech, saying it contained "baseless lies" and that Netanyahu used the address to "sanitize his genocide of Palestinians" [249234]. The mayor also pointed to the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes [249234].