JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York this afternoon amid vocal criticism of Israel from several world leaders throughout the week. His speech came just hours after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas also addressed the assembly but through video, as the Trump administration denied him a visa to attend in person. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf has been following all of this from Tel Aviv and is with us now. Hey there.
KAT LONSDORF, BYLINE: Hey, Juana.
SUMMERS: Kat, I mean, this sounds pretty dramatic. Can we start with Netanyahu's speech?
LONSDORF: Yeah. The speech was dramatic, and it even started that way. As Netanyahu took the podium, dozens of diplomats got up and walked out. There was some booing, while some supporters cheered from the public gallery. There were calls for order, and then Netanyahu began.
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PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: If there are any other moral cowards who haven't yet left this hall, please do so now. Thank you very much.
(CHEERING)
LONSDORF: He then went on to talk for a little more than half an hour. He celebrated and defended the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, calling it one of the easiest decisions he's ever had to make, saying, if he hadn't attacked Iran, quote, "we'd all be dead." He also defended Israel against much of the criticism that has come its way recently. He downplayed settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, saying it was the work of 150 juvenile delinquents. But in reality, that violence has been incredibly destructive. The U.K. recently said such settler attacks and land grabs amount to, quote, "ethnic cleansing." He also rejected claims that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, something that's come up repeatedly from other world leaders this week. And he accused the media of not telling the, quote, "truth" about what's happening in Gaza. But just a reminder, Israel has not allowed journalists to enter Gaza to independently report in almost three years - the entirety of the war.
SUMMERS: Now, this appearance at the U.N. this week has been really controversial. I know that there were protests outside the building in New York, as he spoke. And New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been very vocal about not wanting Netanyahu to come.
LONSDORF: Right. The International Criminal Court has an outstanding warrant for Netanyahu's arrest for alleged war crimes on civilians during the war in Gaza. Mamdani has repeatedly said he thinks Netanyahu is a war criminal and that federal authorities should arrest him if he steps foot in New York. And Netanyahu addressed that, accusing Mamdani of being antisemitic.
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NETANYAHU: Mr. Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can't silence me.
LONSDORF: Netanyahu also called many of the world leaders who have been criticizing him, quote, "tyrants."
SUMMERS: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also spoke today, although his was from a prerecorded video. What did he say?
LONSDORF: Yeah. Abbas was denied a visa by the U.S. to attend the assembly. It's the second year in a row that the Trump administration has done that. Abbas called the refusal of his visa, quote, "unlawful and punitive." He also called Israel's war in Gaza a, quote, "genocidal war that has created an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe." And he reiterated a call for a Palestinian state with the unification of Gaza and the West Bank, saying that continued Israeli violence in both occupied territories is making that increasingly difficult to realize.
SUMMERS: And all of this is happening is Israel has a really big election coming up next month that will determine if Netanyahu remains prime minister.
LONSDORF: Right.
SUMMERS: How does that play in here?
LONSDORF: Yeah. Something that was very clear this week is how increasingly isolated Israel's becoming - both at the United Nations but also in the world, in public opinion. Netanyahu was very defiant about that, and he seemed to use this speech to speak very much to his audience here in Israel, using it as a kind of campaign event. His slogan this year is Netanyahu is fighting for everyone. And one of the themes in the speech is, we will win - basically, that the wars aren't over yet, and Netanyahu is the one who will win them for Israel.
SUMMERS: NPR's Kat Lonsdorf in Tel Aviv, thank you.
LONSDORF: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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