At UN, Netanyahu defends Israel as delegates walk out

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mounted a forceful defence of Israel's actions in the region at the UN, seeking to counter growing international isolation ahead of elections he could lose, as dozens of delegates streamed out.

The walkout underscored the competing pressures facing Netanyahu, who is battling mounting criticism abroad over the Gaza war while campaigning for reelection at home ahead of an October 27 vote.

The divisions over Israel's conduct were on display as Netanyahu began speaking, with dozens of delegates walking out in protest. 

Netanyahu used his address to berate New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for calling him a war criminal, and to accuse both Qatar and Turkey of spreading lies about Israel.

"You tried to stop me from coming here... You tried to silence me. Well, you can't silence me," Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, said of Mamdani.

Mamdani campaigned for office on a promise to have Netanyahu arrested for alleged war crimes should he visit the largest US city but later said he determined he lacked the legal authority to do so. 

Qatar also rejected the accusation that it was seeking to turn public opinion against Israel, with its foreign ministry spokesperson saying on X that Netanyahu's repeated attacks on Doha sought to divert attention from responsibility for policies on the ground.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's communications director dismissed Netanyahu's accusations against Turkey and Erdogan as baseless.

NETANYAHU'S POLITICAL FUTURE ON THE LINE

With general elections less than five weeks away, Netanyahu spoke for about 40 minutes in what amounted to a campaign-style speech, broadcast live in evening prime time on all four of the main Israeli television channels.

Ahead of his speech, Netanyahu's government paid to place 500 pro-Israel and anti-Iran billboards and dozens of trucks carrying messages in support of Israel across Manhattan, Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

With opinion polls showing Netanyahu's bloc trailing rivals ahead of the election, he used the speech to showcase what he described as Israel's fight on seven fronts, including the war with Iran that began with joint US-Israeli strikes in late February.

As in past UN appearances, Netanyahu used props, holding up a pager linked to an attack that killed and wounded Hezbollah members in Lebanon and a Starlink satellite internet receiver he said he would leave for the Iranian delegation.

STREET PROTESTS IN NEW YORK

Several hundred protesters gathered near the United Nations, with dozens blocking traffic. Police detained them.

Netanyahu was making a short visit to the US for his UN address and, unusually, without a planned meeting with US President Donald Trump, whom he praised during his speech.

DEEPENING ISOLATION

Israel has faced deepening diplomatic isolation since launching its war in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attacks on Israel nearly three years ago.

Netanyahu is unable to travel to many countries because of an International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued against him and his then-defence minister as well as the then-military commander of Hamas in 2024.

Earlier this month, once-steadfast allies Britain, France and Canada announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which drew a muted response from Washington.