“Israel did not commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide”: Netanyahu offensive at the UN

“They accuse Israel, tiny Israel, of colonialism, what colonialism?” Benjamin Netanyahu exclaimed from the UN podium. “Among them are people in Britain and France. Hell, they’re the ones who invented the term,” he said, noting that “their colonies covered the entire planet.”

Like last year, dozens of members of the delegations left the room when the Israeli Prime Minister spoke in protest, at the initiative of the Palestinian mission to the UN.

“If there are still cowards in this room who have not left the premises, let them do so now,” he said before beginning his speech.

Zohran Mamdani accused of anti-Semitism

Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in New York in the morning and is due to leave immediately afterwards for a whirlwind visit of less than 24 hours. Unusually, no meeting with American officials is on his agenda.

His speech comes the day after the car-ramming attack in the occupied West Bank in which the son of the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, was seriously injured. According to the latter, his son, who is a reservist in the Israeli army, is still “in danger” of death.

Before his trip, Benjamin Netanyahu had promised to “tell the truth” about the new mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, whom he accuses of supporting Hamas.

Zohran Mamdani, who is part of the left wing of the Democratic Party and a long-time activist for the Palestinian cause, accuses the Israeli prime minister of “genocide.”

Earlier this year, New York’s mayor said he was considering arresting the Israeli at the UN summit, before admitting he was unable to execute an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for the prime minister for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Dozens of protesters gathered along First Avenue which runs past the UN headquarters in Manhattan, chanting “Netanyahu you cannot hide, you are wanted for genocide.”

Campaigning for the legislative elections on October 27, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the head of the most right-wing government in the history of Israel, launched his country into a war on several fronts (Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iran) and intensified colonization in the occupied West Bank, where settler violence has increased since the bloody attack carried out by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023. The prime minister has been under fire from criticism in his country since that an investigation by the newspaper Haaretz revealed that he was informed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) that a large-scale operation was being prepared from Gaza.

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“We did not commit genocide” in Gaza

Benjamin Netanyahu also completely denied accusations of genocide, claiming to have taken measures to protect the civilian population in Gaza. Since October 7, the Israeli army itself has admitted that its strikes had caused the deaths of 71,000 people in Gaza.

Before him, the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, forced to speak by video after being deprived of a visa by the United States, declared that Israeli policies were no longer content to compromise the two-state solution but now threatened “the very life and existence” of its people.

“What is happening in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem are not isolated incidents, but a malicious colonial project aimed at making life more difficult for Palestinians in their homeland and forcing them to leave it,” he said.

The Palestinian leader also castigated the United States’ decision to ban him, like last year, from visiting American soil, denouncing “punitive measures without legal basis.”

Macron also targeted by Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech comes as several foreign leaders, including Emmanuel Macron, took advantage of the UN platform this week to criticize the policy pursued by the Israeli government.

The French president thus deplored the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

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“What is our credibility if we continue to remain inactive in the face of Gaza?” he said, also criticizing Israeli actions in the West Bank, where, he said, “Hamas has never acted”. Israel’s response was scathing, denouncing the “grotesque absurdity” of Emmanuel Macron’s remarks. In his speech, Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed settler violence in the West Bank, calling it “peaceful settlers.”

Last year at the UN, France and Saudi Arabia spearheaded the recognition of a State of Palestine, in the hope of advancing the two-state solution, which appears increasingly uncertain on the ground.

Many Western countries, including Canada, France and the United Kingdom, have for months denounced the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and have imposed sanctions against Israel.

The United States, for its part, refuses to appear publicly as criticizing Israel, but says it opposes the violence and any annexation of this Palestinian territory by Israel.

With AFP