Israel's Netanyahu, at UN, calls accusations of genocide in Gaza 'the
biggest lie of the century'
[September 25, 2026]
By SAM METZ
Lashing out at his country's critics, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu angrily dismissed allegations of Israeli genocide in Gaza as
“the biggest lie of the century” in a defiant speech to the U.N. General
Assembly that asserted his nation’s right to wage war against Iran.
Scores of delegates trooped out of the hall in protest.
Netanyahu addressed the plenum after days of speeches by world leaders
condemning Israel's war in Gaza and accusing him of orchestrating a
genocide against the Palestinian people. At times, the Israeli leader,
facing a tough race for re-election next month, became emotional and
indignant as he lectured his critics, among them New York's mayor.
Netanyahu, his voice rising in emphasis, said attacking Iran “was one of
the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make” and denounced as “moral
cowards” a mass of delegates who walked out of the hall when he took the
podium to speak.
“In defending itself, Israel is also defending many of the countries
whose delegates just left this hall,” Netanyahu said. “In fact, I want
you to know that many of their leaders even thank us privately for
taking out Iran’s nukes.”
When Netanyahu walked to the rostrum, a mix of cheers, boos and mass
walkouts erupted. Scores of delegates marched out and a majority of
visible seats sat empty afterward. “Order in the hall, please,” General
Assembly President Khalilur Rahman said repeatedly.
“If there are any other moral cowards who have not yet left this hall,
please do so now,” Netanyahu said.
A speech aimed at a domestic audience
Netanyahu's remarks — which at times sounded like a stump speech — were
aimed largely at the audience at home as the country prepares for
elections on Oct. 27. It was delivered during the evening prime time in
Israel and filled with standard talking points used to defend policies
in the occupied West Bank and treatment of the Palestinians.
Netanyahu reminded the assembly of the scale of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack
in which Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people.
“This is equal to 40,000 innocent Americans slaughtered in less than 24
hours,” he said, or 16 times the death count of the 9/11 attacks that
left nearly 3,000 people dead in New York and more in Pennsylvania and
at the Pentagon.
Netanyahu said the attack left Israel with no choice but to hit Hamas
hard. Many governments have accused Israel of committing war crimes, and
Netanyahu himself faces an arrest warrant by the International Criminal
Court accusing him of crimes against humanity.
He predicted the fall of Iran's government
While the war in Iran has been inconclusive and caused havoc on the
global economy, Netanyahu insisted he had made the right decision.
He thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for taking decisive action
against Iran, and predicted Iran’s theocratic government would fall.
Trump made a similar assertion at the outset of the war that began
nearly seven months ago, but the Iranian government appears to remain
firmly in charge.
Netanyahu, known for using visual aids during his General Assembly
speeches, at one point held up a pager while reminding the audience of
the Sept. 17, 2024, attack in which Israel remotely detonatedthousands
of pagers that had been distributed to the Iran-backed Hezbollah
militant group in Lebanon. The pager attack wounded more than 3,000
people and killed 12, including two children.
He says reports of settler violence in the West Bank are distorted
Netanyahu dismissed incidents of Israeli settler violence against
Palestinians in the West Bank as a “handful of young juvenile
delinquents” throwing stones, chopping down olive trees and lighting
fires.
“I can’t stand that. I won’t stand for vigilantism,” the prime minister
said before accusing foreign leaders and the international press of
distorting the scale of violence in the West Bank.
Netanyahu’s government is dominated by settlers and their allies, and
has made few arrests in the wave of settler violence.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds up a Starlink
satellite internet dish a he speaks during the 81st session of the
United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters,
Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 war,
and the Palestinians want both as part of their future state. The
Palestinians and most of the international community view the
settlements as illegal and as an obstacle to creating a viable,
contiguous Palestinian state.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has
reported more than 1,600 settler attacks this year.
At least 104 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers or
soldiers this year, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian
Health Ministry. Four Israelis have been killed by Palestinians over
the same period. This week, a settler was killed and the son of
Israel's ambassador to the U.S. badly wounded in separate
Palestinian attacks.
Israel is increasingly isolated on the world stage
Netanyahu also accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of
spreading lies about Israel and endangering Jewish New Yorkers with
his criticism of the country's military actions in Gaza.
Before the prime minister arrived in New York, Mamdani called him a
“war criminal” and pushed for his arrest. The mayor has acknowledged
that New York does not have the authority to execute an
International Criminal Court warrant but urged federal authorities
to do so.
In past years, Netanyahu has used his General Assembly speech to
both denounce the United Nations as biased and make Israel's case to
world leaders. His address is the cornerstone of an abbreviated trip
to the United States as Israel has grown increasingly isolated
throughout the war in Gaza.
The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants
attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping 251. At
least 73,922 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's subsequent
offensive, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, part of the
Hamas-run government whose numbers are generally considered reliable
by the international community.
A ceasefire agreed to by Israel and Hamas last October halted the
heaviest of the fighting and led to the release of the remaining
hostages yet further steps have since stalled. Israel maintains
control of most of Gaza and continues to carry out airstrikes on
Palestinians near military-held zones. Hamas not disarmed or
relinquished power and there has been no progress toward
reconstruction in the mostly destroyed territory.
Netanyahu has said no Palestinian state will be established while he
is Israel’s leader and has argued that the Palestinian Authority is
not a partner for peace.
Netanyahu followed the Palestinian president’s remote speech
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also addressed the U.N. General
Assembly earlier Thursday, delivering prerecorded remarks from his
office in Ramallah after the United States denied him a visa to
attend the gathering for the second year in a row.
Though world leaders have repeatedly invoked the plight of
Palestinians in speeches throughout the week, Abbas urged the
international community to take more tangible action against Israel.
“How long will some countries continue to remain silent about
Israel, or continue supplying it with weapons that it uses against
our people?" Abbas said. “What, then, is the international community
waiting for before it acts to protect the Palestinian people?”
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Associated Press reporters Jennifer Peltz and Edith M. Lederer
contributed.
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