At the UN Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had done the “opposite of genocide” in Gaza and defended its attacks on neighbors; delegates from dozens of countries left before he spoke. With elections a month away, supporters praised the speech.
Netanyahu rejected Western criticism of Israel’s West Bank occupation, called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a “tyrant,” accused Qatar of funding “toxic media outlets,” and branded New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani antisemitic. Qatar’s deputy envoy said attacking a regional mediator would not help resolve the conflict; Turkey’s presidential communications director called the remarks baseless, and Mamdani rejected them, citing the ICC warrant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Israeli analyst Ahron Bregman said the speech was intended to boost Netanyahu’s election campaign and called it “littered with lies”; pollster Mitchell Barak praised his performance. Netanyahu said Israel had fought on seven fronts for three years. The article cites more than 73,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza and says much of the enclave was destroyed; Netanyahu’s speech offered no indication of how the wars might end.
