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NEW YORK CITY (W) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday to defend Israel’s conduct in the war against Hamas and sharply criticize New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, drawing a mix of applause and taunts as some delegations walked out.
“If there are any other moral cowards who have not yet left the hall, please do so now,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu slams ‘moral cowards’ as UNGA delegates walk out
Netanyahu’s speech was his 15th address to the General Assembly.
Addressing critics of Israel, Netanyahu said: “To all those spreading these lies about my country and about our brave soldiers, whether they sit in this hall or in the office of the anti-Semitic mayor of New York, I say this: shame on you. Shame on you for distorting the facts.”
Netanyahu used the world stage and an audience of millions to single out Mamdani, holding him responsible for making Jewish New Yorkers less safe.
“You falsely, repeatedly accuse Israel of genocide, Mr. Mamdani. You tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu says Mamdani endangers Jewish New Yorkers by spreading lies about Israel’s actions in Gaza
In his speech, Netanyahu reminded world leaders of the Hamas massacre in 2023 that killed more than 1,200 Israelis. He also sought to justify Israel’s response, which has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, an action the mayor has repeatedly condemned.
“I believe him to be a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people,” Mamdani said.
Netanyahu rejected that allegation.
“Here is the simple truth. Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide. And that’s exactly, that’s exactly what Mr. Mamdani’s Hamas buddies would have done to us, had we not stopped them. They would have killed every last one of us,” he said.
The mayor responded Thursday night in a statement saying the prime minister used his speech to “repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize the genocide of Palestinians,” adding, he remains the subject of an international criminal court arrest warrant.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the General Assembly by video after the United States denied him a visa. Abbas, who is not a member of Hamas and has condemned the Oct. 7 attacks, accused the Israeli government of “state terrorism” and “ethnic cleansing.”
“Our people are being subjected at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces to killing, destruction, starvation and attempts at displacement, as well as a genocidal war that has created an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” Abbas said.
The competing addresses underscored the deep divisions over the Israel-Hamas war, with both leaders using the General Assembly to defend their positions before world leaders and a global audience.
Protesters demonstrate against Netanyahu outside U.N.
Outside the United Nations, several hundred protesters sat in the roadway and blocked traffic, closing northbound First Avenue at East 39th Street in Manhattan for a pop-up protest as Netanyahu arrived in New York, saying he was not welcome.
Lindsay Tuchman reports from Manhattan’s East Side.
“We have over 300 New Yorkers who are sitting in and protesting Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly Thursday,” said Beth Miller of Jewish Voice for Peace.
Police ordered the crowd to disperse and warned that arrests would follow if people did not leave.
According to the NYPD, about 100 people did not comply with the warnings. Those individuals were placed in handcuffs and loaded onto buses, including actress Susan Sarandon.
Brian Shlonsky has the details on the protests.
Other celebrities also participated in the protest, including actress Cynthia Nixon.
“Horrendous genocide that the Palestinian people are undergoing right now. The bombing, the starvation, the targeting of journalists, of hospitals and having Netanyahu here who should be in jail for his war crimes here addressing the UN in a position of honor is galling,” Nixon said.
UN General Assembly 2026: Live updates
Politicians were also among those attending the demonstration, including some from outside New York.
Diana Moreno, the assemblywoman representing Queens’ 36th Assembly District, said many Palestinian families live in her district and would want her at the protest.
“We want for our tax dollars to go to healthcare here at home, schools here at home, infrastructure here at home, we cannot afford gas, we cannot afford childcare, we cannot afford healthcare,” Moreno said.
There were rallies in support of the Israeli prime minister too. There were welcome signs for Netanyahu, paired with “Fire Mamdani” paraphernalia.
Mamdani had urged Netanyahu’s arrest over the war in Gaza, pointing to the arrest warrant issued by the world’s top war crimes tribunal against Netanyahu in November 2024, accusing him and another Israeli official of crimes against humanity.
The International Criminal Court warrant said there was reason to believe Netanyahu used “starvation as a weapon of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeting civilians in the campaign against Hamas – charges Israel denies.
While New York City does not have legal authority to execute an ICC arrest warrant, Mamdani has encouraged the federal government to do so.
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