Abbas spoke about Palestinian statehood, Netanyahu condemned critics of Israel
Speaking at the UN General Assembly on September 24, Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to defend Israel's actions in the region. Mahmoud Abbas, who delivered his address via video message, said he "aspires to establish a Palestinian state that lives side-by-side and in peace with Israel."
Abbas spoke about Palestinian statehood, while Netanyahu condemned critics of Israel
On September 24, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly, attempting to defend Israel's actions in the region.
As soon as Netanyahu took the podium, he was met with boos of protest, and many diplomats in the hall walked out, just as they did last year. At that moment, supporters of the Israeli leader began chanting a slogan meaning "The people of Israel live."
Netanyahu used his speech to sharply criticize New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Western European leaders, as well as to accuse Qatar and Turkey of spreading lies about Israel.
"You tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. But you cannot silence me," Netanyahu said of Mamdani.
During his election campaign, Mamdani had promised to arrest Netanyahu for potential war crimes if he visited the largest city in the US. He later stated that he lacked the legal authority to do so.
In response to Netanyahu's speech, Mamdani accused him of using his UN address to "repeat baseless lies aimed at justifying the genocide against Palestinians."
"No amount of lies can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity,"