By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday addressed the UN high level debate in New York with protests in solidarity with Palestine taking place outside the UN headquarters.
Netanyahu took the stage, several delegates walked out in protest. Setting the tone for what was expected to be a combative speech, he began by addressing “the families of our dear hostages languishing in the dungeons of Gaza.”
He held up a map which he said illustrated “Iran’s terror axis.”
PM outlined Israeli operations across the region, including targeted strikes and assassinations, and claimed Israel had reshaped the Middle East.
He referred to a recent operation in Lebanon, Netanyahu remarked, “You remember those beepers, the pagers, we paged Hezbollah, and believe me, they got the message.”
He faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over alleged war crimes, spoke of the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, senior Hamas operatives, Houthi leaders and Iranian scientists.
PM also took credit for the downfall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, though he did not refer to the rebel offensive that led to Assad’s fall.
Netanyahu’s arrival in New York drew demonstrations backing Palestine as he prepared to deliver his address at the annual debate. Alongside him, Friday’s line-up of speakers at UNGA 80 included leaders from Pakistan, China, Ireland and Greece.
Israeli Prime Minister’s Office launched a public diplomacy campaign in New York, featured dozens of massive billboards and mobile trucks emblazoned with the message “Remember October 7,” strategically placed around the United Nations headquarters and the bustling Times Square.
The effort was to underscore the horrors of the Hamas-led attacks and the ongoing plight of 48 hostages held captive in Gaza.
The initiative, spearheaded by the PMO and the Prime Minister’s spokesperson unit ahead of Netanyahu’s UNGA 80 address, was intended to jolt world leaders and the global public into confronting the brutality of Hamas.
