Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel’s campaigns in Gaza and Iran at the UN General Assembly, rejecting genocide accusations and vowing to keep fighting after dozens of delegates walked out as he took the stage. Israel’s election is due next month.
Hours before Netanyahu spoke, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN by video after being denied a US entry visa. Abbas said settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank threatened Palestinians and the two-state solution, and accused Israel’s military of waging a genocidal war in Gaza. Israel denies that allegation; last year, the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution saying Israel’s conduct met the UN convention’s definition of genocide.
Netanyahu praised US President Donald Trump for the joint US-Israeli air strikes on Iran in February. The article says he also addressed American audiences amid polls suggesting support for Israel is falling among Democrats and Republican backing is fracturing. In New York, police detained protesters including actors Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder; the NYPD said officers responded to reports of an unscheduled demonstration blocking a junction.
