Several country delegations walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall in New York on Thursday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address at the 81st session of the assembly.
The walkout came amid international criticism of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and its wider military confrontation with Iran. Reports from the session said dozens of delegates left the chamber as Netanyahu took the podium, while some people in the public gallery applauded and chanted in support of the Israeli leader.
Netanyahu continued with his address and devoted a significant portion of his speech to defending Israel’s strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
“Devastating Iran’s nuclear facilities was hard. It was very hard to do. But for me, it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make as prime minister,” Netanyahu said.
“Because if we hadn’t done it, we’d all be dead,” he added.
The Israeli prime minister said the military action was consistent with his longstanding pledge to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“14 years ago, I vowed to prevent Iran’s murderous dictatorship from developing atomic bombs. That’s exactly what we did,” he said.
Netanyahu also argued that Israel’s military actions had benefited countries beyond Israel, including some whose representatives had left the assembly hall.
“Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall,” he said.
He further claimed that some foreign leaders had privately expressed appreciation for Israel’s action against Iran’s nuclear programme.
“In fact, I want you to know that many of their leaders even thank us privately for taking out Iran’s nukes,” Netanyahu said.
The speech came amid continuing international criticism of Israel’s conduct of its military campaign in Gaza and its wider regional operations. Reuters reported ahead of the address that Netanyahu’s visit to New York was unusually brief.
Iran has rejected Israel’s justification for military action against it and has maintained that its nuclear programme is intended for peaceful purposes.
Netanyahu, however, continued to argue that military action was necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, making the issue a central part of his defence of Israel’s actions before the General Assembly.
The walkout marked another highly contentious appearance by Netanyahu at the UN, with the chamber divided between departing delegations and supporters who remained to hear his address.
