Despite mass diplomatic walkouts at the UN, Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered a forceful speech defending Israel’s military triumphs, rejecting Palestinian statehood, and demanding global action against Iran.
New York / Jerusalem — Sept. 26, 2025 — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood nearly alone at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, as hostile diplomats staged a walkout during his address. Yet, from the podium of what he called “the world’s largest anti-Israel organization,” Israel’s longest-serving leader delivered one of his most uncompromising speeches to date: a warning that Israel will not bow to international pressure to accept a Palestinian terror state and a vow that Jerusalem will “finish the job” in Gaza.
Walkout, Applause, and Isolation
The scene was surreal: as dozens of delegations vacated their seats, the loudest applause came from the 40 guests Israel was allowed to bring — a fraction of the crowd Netanyahu could have commanded had the UN not sought to isolate him.
The speech was deliberately scheduled for the last day of the GA, when most world leaders had already departed New York, underscoring what Israeli officials described as a calculated snub.
A Leader Under Siege, A Nation Resilient
Netanyahu arrived in New York on Israel’s “Wing of Zion,” flying a deliberately elongated route over the Mediterranean to avoid European countries likely to enforce the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants against him. Even his own team was forced onto commercial flights to conserve fuel and prepare for contingencies.
It was a vivid reminder of the prime minister’s precarious position — and Israel’s resilience under fire.
Israel’s Stunning Military Comeback
Netanyahu recounted Israel’s extraordinary successes since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre, which claimed 1,200 lives and saw 250 hostages dragged into Gaza.
- Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s terror chief, was assassinated in 2024 in an Israeli strike on his Iranian-built bunker.
- Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and half of the Houthi leadership are gone.
- The Assad regime in Syria has collapsed under Israel’s campaign.
- Most significantly, Israel and the U.S. together devastated Iran’s nuclear and missile programs in what Netanyahu called “one of the most stunning military comebacks in history.”
Netanyahu credited U.S. President Donald Trump for his “bold and decisive action” in ordering the bombing of Iran’s Fordow nuclear site:
“President Trump and I promised to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and we fulfilled that promise.”
He urged the international community to “snap back” crippling sanctions on Tehran and eliminate its uranium stockpiles.
Message to the World — and to Gaza
Wearing a lapel pin embedded with a QR code, Netanyahu directed the world to graphic video evidence of the October 7 massacre. “Zoom in,” he said, “and you will see why we must win.”
In a dramatic move, he ordered his speech broadcast into Gaza via loudspeakers, addressing the 20 remaining Israeli hostages by name:
“We will not rest until we bring all of you home.”
At the same time, he taunted Hamas commanders by streaming his words directly onto their seized phones:
“Lay down your arms. Free the hostages. If you do, you will live. If you don’t, Israel will hunt you down.”
Rejecting a Palestinian Terror State
Netanyahu saved his sharpest rebuke for Western leaders pushing for a Palestinian state:
“Israel will not allow you to shove a terror state down our throats. Every time the Palestinians were given territory, they used it to attack us. To create such a state one mile outside Jerusalem would be like creating an Al-Qaeda state one mile outside New York City.”
He denounced what he called the “mark of shame” upon world leaders who appease jihadists to placate radical populations at home:
“You can’t appease your way out of jihad.”
From 1984 to 2025: The Same Battle
Netanyahu recalled his first encounter with the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1984, who warned him that the UN was a “house of lies” but urged him to be a candle of truth.
Four decades later, that candle has become a blazing spotlight. Israel, once dismissed as a small regional state, is now a global military and economic power — and its leader, though isolated in Turtle Bay, stands as one of the era’s most consequential statesmen.
For Netanyahu, the message was clear: Israel fights not just on the battlefield, but on the world stage — and it will not be silenced.
