NEW YORK, NYA floor of the United Nations General Assembly, usually a place for careful diplomatic minutiae, was on Friday converted into an arena of unadorned political defiance. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an angry, defiant speech, issued a blistering denunciation of international criticism and made a stern vow to carry the war in Gaza forward.
The central thunderclap of his speech was announcing that the creation of a Palestinian state would be nothing but “national suicide” for Israel. He also criticised Western powers, including those who had recently recognised Palestine, of tacitly “rewarding terror.”
“Israel will not allow you to force a terrorist state on us,” he thundered from the Times Square-like platform. “We’re not going to commit national suicide because you’re too weak or cowardly to take on the hostile media and Jew hating mobs lusting for Israeli blood.”
Boycotts, Protest Movements, and the European Schism
Netanyahu, however, chose to go on the offensive just days after several European powers, including France and Britain, endorsed the idea of a Palestinian state. This act, the Prime Minister explained, tacitly communicated that “murdering Jews pays off.”
The chamber was thick with the pressure. During his speech, several international delegations orchestrated a coordinated walkout, leaving the room with scores of empty seats. A.K.A “It’s Time I Bunker Down” Outside, his contentious trip to New York (he had an unusual travel path: one that was supposed to avoid a visit from the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for war crime charges) was met with around-the-clock protests. “War criminals don’t deserve any peace of mind,” protester Andrea Mirez said, echoing the demands from people wanting to hold him accountable.
The Unwavering Promise to “Finish the Job
The prime minister’s hard line is presented against the grim reality of almost two years of cruel war, which began with the Hamas horror show on October 7 and left 1,219 Israelis dead. The subsequent Israeli assault on Gaza has produced a humanitarian catastrophe, with over 65,500 Palestinians dead (according to the Hamas-run health ministry), and most of the Strip’s population driven from their homes.
In the face of overwhelming international pressure and a deepening humanitarian disaster, Netanyahu was unbowed, vowing to “complete” the job on Hamas. This announcement, however, had seemed to clash with Israel’s closest ally momentarily. Moments after the speech, US President Donald Trump, whom Netanyahu is due to meet in Washington, suggested there might be a breakthrough in ceasefire negotiations, telling reporters: “I think we have a deal.”
Theatrics and the Direct Line to Gaza
And, true to form, the address was full of high drama. In a throwback to his old habit of using props (such as the cartoon bomb, he once carried onstage), Netanyahu held up a map of the Middle East and, at one point, a pen to dramatically cross out adversaries that he said Israel had eliminated. In a quiet but potent counter-protest, the Iranian delegation that boycotted the speech displayed on its table pictures of people who died in Israel’s recent bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
One of the most unusual features of the address was that it was being simultaneously shouted in Hebrew from loudspeakers belonging to the Israeli military, directly into Gaza. Reverting to Hebrew, he spoke equally to the hostages and Hamas leaders.
“We did not forget about you one second,” he promised the prisoners. “… we will never be silent or let up until we have the boy’s home, alive and dead.”
This plea for calm is despite the public complaints of some of the families of hostages who have lambasted his government’s approach and instead call for a ceasefire to expedite their return.
As the speech finished with a roaring applause from his gallery of supporters, Netanyahu’s message could not have been blacker and whiter. His speech laid down a marker, telling the world that his government remains passionately committed to its objectives in military terms. For those holding their breath in the Middle East, his words offered little ground for immediate compromise and made clear that the road ahead remains as treacherous and undetermined as ever.