Many delegates walk out in protest when Netanyahu addresses UN General Assembly

UNITED NATIONS - When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began to deliver his speech during the general debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday, many delegates walked out of the UNGA hall in protest.

In his address, Netanyahu criticized those countries announcing their recognition of the State of Palestine over the past few days, saying: "You know what message the leaders who recognized a Palestinian state this week sent to the Palestinians? It's a very clear message. Murdering Jews pays off."

France, Britain, Portugal, Australia and Canada are among Western nations that have recently recognized the State of Palestine in support of the two-state solution over the past few days. So far, more than 150 UN member states have recognized Palestine.

Scores of delegates walked out of the General Assembly hall in protest when Netanyahu took the stage. He was booed by some delegates, but was applauded by some others.

In his speech, Netanyahu accused the Palestinians of not believing in the two-state solution. "They never have. They don't want a state next to Israel. They want a Palestinian state instead of Israel."

He also alleged that "the persistent Palestinian rejection of a Jewish state in any boundary is what has driven this conflict for over a century."

The Israeli prime minister claimed that his opposition to a Palestinian state "is not simply my policies or my government's policy. It's the policy of the state and people of the state of Israel."

Addressing world leaders via video link on Thursday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian Authority had recognized Israel's "right to exist" as early as 1988 and again in 1993.

"I speak to you today after almost two years in which our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement," Abbas said, adding that the genocide has been "waged by the Israeli occupation forces in which they killed and injured more than 220,000 Palestinians."

Abbas condemned the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, saying those actions "do not represent the Palestinian people, nor their just struggle for freedom and independence."

Abbas extended thanks to the countries that recently recognized Palestinian statehood, and the people and organizations around the world who protested in support of the rights of the Palestinian people, adding, "We reject confusing the solidarity with the Palestinian cause and the issue of antisemitism, which is something that we reject."

Earlier this month, the UNGA adopted a draft resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. The declaration, circulated at a high-level international conference held at the United Nations in late July, sets out an action-oriented pathway toward a peaceful settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict and the realization of the two-state solution.