Netanyahu attacks Palestinian recognition as dozens walk out of UN speech

BBC

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in front of the United Nations last week. Although his audience was much smaller than usual, as right before Netanyahu spoke, dozens of diplomats and officials from a number of countries walked out of the speech. This walkout was met by dozens more applauding the walkout as it happened. The walkout showcases an unprecedented lack of support for Israel amidst its current actions in the Gaza War. 

As he came up, Netanyahu received a mix of cheers and boos, as the PM’s reputation has severely worsened in the international community over the years.

Israel’s relationship with the UN has been contentious for years. Israel’s original borders were granted to it by the UN in 1947. Israeli leaders and politicians often point to the fact that they accepted their granted borders while the Palestinian Arabs rejected the plan. This is done to argue that Palestinians don’t want peace and coexistence and Israel does. This ignores the Palestinian perspective that they were being forced to give up land that was undisputedly theirs over a millennium, until 1917.  

However over the years, Israel has faced several reprimands by the UN.

In 1967, following the Arab-Israeli 6 Day War, Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza, territory it was not guaranteed by the UN in 1947. Resolution 242, passed a few months later, ordered Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza, though Israel has not followed through on this. 

Rather Israel has maintained an occupation of the territory barring a brief withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 which was reversed a few years later after the Islamist group Hamas came to power in Gaza. Israel points to Hamas terrorism as justification for its actions in Gaza. 

Israel has also continued to expand settlements into the West Bank, displacing Arabs living there with Israeli settlers. These settlements have also been largely subsidised by the government, making it cheaper for many Israelis to live there. 

The UN has condemned Israeli actions multiple times. Israel often accuses the UN of having a double standard against it, defending its actions and pointing to other states in the region, many of them authoritarian regimes, receiving much less criticism. This is partially helped by the fact that many of Israel’s greatest critics are other nations in the region that have their own human rights abuses and atrocities. 

Israel has largely been supported by the West continuously since 1947 especially the United States. This relationship grew stronger over the years following the 1967 Six Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Israel today receives significant support from the Trump administration in the U.S., who are its biggest supporters. However other Western nations have become increasingly critical. 

In 2024, Spain, Ireland, Norway, and Slovenia officially recognised a Palestinian state. This year, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Portugal, and Australia have followed suit. Belgium conditionally recognised Palestine as well, tying it to the release of hostages. 

Israel’s violation of a ceasefire back in March, coupled with reports of famine, arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court, Israeli attacks on humanitarian floatillas, and a UN commission labeling the situation of Palestine as a genocide, have all put increasing international pressure on Israel and turned both public and political opinion. 

For Palestinians, recognition is an opportunity to have their rights and land restored. In the early years Palestinians relied largely only on the surrounding Arab states, though over time, the narrative shifted to the view that Palestinians must advocate for themselves because no one else will. Today, for the first, Palestinians are seeing worldwide support, including from nations previously defensive about Israel. 

In his speech Netanyahu was defiant, lambasting the idea of recognising a Palestinian state, and labeling the UN commission labeling it a genocide as “baseless.” He thanked the U.S. and Trump, saying the two countries were fighting a common enemy. 

There are 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, 20 of whom are thought to be alive. Netanyahu addressed them, saying Israel would not falter until all of them were brought home. He was condemned by leader of the Israeli Democrats, Yair Golan, who said the speech showcased “only victimhood, sanctimoniousness, and complete blindness to the suffering of the hostages and the sacrifice of the fighters.” 

Netanyahu and the Israeli government’s defiant attitude has alienated many on the international stage. Netanyahu has been Prime Minister on and off for 18 of the last 30 years. His political career has been defined by a hardline stance on the Palestinian issue, opposing concessions and seeking to isolate the Palestinians further. He came to prominence in the 1990s railing against the Oslo Accords and the Prime Minister at the time, Yitzak Rabin. 

Rabin would be assassinated with many blaming Netanyahu’s incendiary rhetoric, including Rabin’s wife. Despite this, he was elected Prime Minister the following year following a series of Hamas terrorist attacks. He remained Prime Minister until 1999, derailing the Oslo Accords negotiations in the process.
He would return to power in 2009, following Israel’s reoccupation of Gaza following the rise of Hamas to power in the Gaza Strip. He remained in power until 2021.

During this period he oversaw the 2012 and 2014 Gaza wars and the 2021 Israeli-Palestinian crisis over the eviction of six Palestinian families from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. His biggest success however was the Abraham Accords, a diplomatic effort to gain recognition for Israel from the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Sudan, and Bahrain. This effort is part of Netanyahu’s attempts to separate Israel’s relations with its Arab neighbors from the Palestinian question. 

He came back in 2022 after the coalition which replaced him collapsed and he made alliances with the Israeli far right to secure power. This most recent tenure has come to be defined by the current Israeli-Gaza War following the October 7th attacks. However unlike previous wars, this war has seen Israel’s reputation tank due to the country’s complete lack of restraint. Worldwide protests have remained strong, two years into the war, and growing international backlash. 

This comes as within Israel he is under pressure over allegations of corruption and bribery. Many critics accuse Netanyahu of using this war to stay in power. Netanyahu is under increased pressure at home and now feels cornered. This offensive in Palestine comes as Netanyahu’s last ditch effort to secure his survival as he has used the war to delay his own corruption trials. 

As his career comes closer to its end, Netanyahu is using this international backlash to rally support for himself in Israel. However the question remains, will this gamble pay off. 

He has made a political career of survival, yet he has never had this many targets on his back. Whether he escapes this tide could define the direction Israel takes for the next generation and how it will reckon with the actions of this government when the dust is settled. 

If he survives, it will be his greatest triumph, if he falls it might bring about a recalibration of the government’s perspective on relations with the Palestinians.