Netanyahu condemns ‘genocide lie’ as celebrity protesters arrested

Binyamin Netanyahu faced jeers and a mass walkout at the United National general assembly as New York police arrested dozens of protesters outside the building. The defiant Israeli leader delivered a fiery address to the annual gathering of world leaders on Thursday, saying that accusing Israel of genocide was “the biggest lie of the century”. Most commented 1 French lifeboats rescue child on busiest day for migrant Channel crossings Politics 1,068 comments 2 Andy Burnham’s got a bounce, but an election could put him on the rocks Politics 163 comments 3 Lucy Powell: Vocational GCSEs not dumbing down — they’re very hard Education 96 comments 4 Running on fumes: data shows England’s World Cup bid was doomed from start Football 138 comments 5 Tony Blair shows off his muscles at 73. Vain or what? Celebrity 173 comments Hundreds of demonstrators filled the streets of midtown Manhattan in protest at his visit. Police arrested actors Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder, who blocked the road leading to the UN building with a sit-in. Susan Sarandon with protesters DAVID ‘DEE’ DELGADO/REUTERS “Free Palestine! Get Netanyahu out of New York,” Einbinder, who is Jewish, shouted as she was led away in zipties by an officer. Top stories 1 Meet the Times reader with more passport stamps than the Travel desk Inspiration “Netanyahu you can’t hide, you are wanted for genocide,” chanted protesters, who were joined by the actors Elliot Page and Cynthia Nixon as well as the whistleblower Chelsea Manning. The rally organiser, Jewish Voice for Peace, said more than 104 people were arrested, including Sarandon, Einbinder, Manning, the model Indya Moore, the comedian Caleb Hearon and the actress Debra Winger. Advertisement Netanyahu told the assembley he was being forced to fight a “seven-front war” with Arab neighbours but that he would win because the Jewish people had no other homeland and “no other choice”. Top stories 1 Six unbeatable Cruise Month deals to book with Times Holidays now Promoted content “The days that Jews were marched to the slaughter are over: today we have an army, a people ready to defend ourselves,” he said, to cheers from a balcony packed with Israeli delegates. Hannah Einbinder is led away Referring to the demonstrations, he said: “I ask where were you when the Iranian tyrants butchered unarmed civilians? Do you organise mass rallies? Because you’re phony human rights protesters.” It was the most hostile political climate an Israeli leader had faced in New York since the country became a member of the UN in 1949. The prime minister has become an increasingly polarising figure since Israel’s assault on Gaza, which was ignited by the deadly attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023. Israel also joined the US in strikes against Iran before launching a ground invasion in southern Lebanon in response to fire from the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah. Advertisement In the corridors of the UN, delegates shouted questions at Netanyahu and his wife Sara about whether he was “concerned about the possibility of a war crimes tribunal”. Netanyahu had been threatened with arrest by Zohran Mamdani, the New York mayor, who had warned he would act upon an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant before realising he did not have the legal authority to do so. In his speech, Netanyahu, 76, called Mamdani an “antisemite” and a “liar”. “Mr Mamdani: you tried to stop me from coming here, well you can’t silence me and you can’t silence the truth,” he said. “Here’s the truth: Israel didn’t commit genocide, it prevented genocide.” Dozens detained at New York protest outside United Nations Netanyahu is known for his theatrics at the United Nations, often using props to dramatically make his points. In Thursday’s address, he held up a Starlink satellite internet device, which he said he was leaving behind at the UN so when Iranian officials defected they could “tell their stories on social media”. At one point Netanyahu also held up a pager, in reference to an audacious 2024 attack which saw Israel remotely detonate thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon — leaving 12 dead and thousands wounded. Advertisement Netanyahu was given a Secret Service escort into New York, where he spent less than eight hours before returning to Israel. Delegates walked out as Netanyahu spoke HEATHER KHALIFA/AP He met with nine world leaders, five of them from Latin American nations with which Israel has sought to deepen ties as its relations with traditional partners in Europe have been strained by the Gaza war and expansion of settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu’s office claimed the schedule was all he could fit in before the start of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which began at sunset. He thanked President Trump for being Israel’s “greatest ally”. His visit did not include a meeting with Trump, however, who was in Washington hosting President Xi of China. Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the US, said he could not recall a time when an Israeli prime minister visited without meeting the president, describing this as a blow for Netanyahu before Israel’s general election on October 27. Advertisement War and peace newsletter Tom Newton-Dunn’s concise guide to global conflict – with reasons for optimism. Sign up with one click You’ve successfully signed up to the War and peace newsletter Explore our newsletters An error occurred. Please use the link below. War and peace newsletter Explore our newsletters Polls in Israel suggest there is a growing likelihood he will lose, with critics at home blaming him and hardliners in his government for tarnishing Israel’s reputation abroad. “He’s not really speaking to the UN, he’s speaking to the Israeli public. It’s a campaign speech,” Oren said. “Now it would be much better if that campaign speech were accompanied by a meeting with the president, or at least the secretary of state, but apparently it’s not.” Israel has faced deepening diplomatic isolation since launching its war in Gaza in response to the October 7 attacks. This month its once-staunch allies Britain, France and Canada announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which drew a muted response from Washington. Netanyahu singled out Britain and France for criticism, saying it had accused Israel of colonising the West Bank despite having “invented the term”. “They accuse Israel, tiny Israel, of colonialism. For God’s sakes, they invented the term,” he said. “Give us a break.” Earlier on Thursday, Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, addressed the assembly via videolink after he was refused a visa by the US government. Advertisement Abbas was one of a procession of leaders to take to the podium with sharp criticism of Israel, which has launched attacks on neighbours in the region. “The Palestinian people face one of the most dangerous times in its history,” Abbas said, citing the Israeli annexation of land in the occupied West Bank and the war in Gaza. In an unexpectedly restrained speech Abbas, 90, who leads the internationally recognised representative of the Palestinian people, implored the world to take action. Mahmoud Abbas spoke via video link ALEXI J ROSENFELD/GETTY IMAGES “How much longer will some states continue to remain silent against Israel or supply it with the weapons it uses against our people? The world has witnessed the tremendous cost in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank,” Abbas said, warning of “another Nakba” (“catastrophe” in Arabic) like the one in which Palestinians were displaced from their homes during the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. “What is the international community waiting for in order to protect the Palestinian people?” His address came a day after the son of the Israeli ambassador to the US, an IDF reservist, was wounded in an attack on a checkpoint in the West Bank. Netanyahu said his “sacrifice will not be in vain”. “We will continue to defend our country,” he said. “We have no other choice.”