The planned part of the speech otherwise began with a defence of Israel's and the United States' war against Iran. A war he said Israel was waging not only for itself.
With the war, Israel is defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall.
It is difficult to even imagine greater hypocrisy, he added.
The protests against his speech were not limited to those inside the hall. Outside the UN building, large crowds demonstrated before his speech and, according to AFP, several people were arrested, including actresses Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder.
Can't silence me
Netanyahu regularly addressed his opponents in his speech, defending Israel's fight for its survival and the occupation of both the Golan Heights and the West Bank.
According to the AFP news agency, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war. At the same time, according to Israeli figures, 49 Israelis have been killed. But Netanyahu called the illegal settlers in the West Bank who are trying to force Palestinians out “a handful of juvenile delinquents” who throw stones and chop down olive trees.
To all those who spread lies about my country and our brave soldiers, whether you are sitting in this room or in the office of the anti-Semitic New York Mayor (Zohran Mamdani), I just say: shame on you!
You cannot silence me, you cannot silence the truth, he said, and was met with applause from those still in the hall.
Abbas was allowed to speak via link
Earlier on Thursday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas delivered his speech to the General Assembly - however, via link because for the second year in a row he had not received a visa to the United States.
The visa ban has been justified, among other things, by the fact that Palestinian politicians are engaged in "ongoing activities that undermine the path to peace."
"We oppose these punishments, and we oppose the accusations and what they are based on," Abbas said of the visa denial.
In his speech, he also attacked Israel, whose policies he said threaten the “life and existence” of the Palestinian people.
The danger is no longer limited to undermining the two-state solution and preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state. It now threatens the very life and existence of the Palestinian people in their homeland.
