Dozens of Delegates Stage Major Walkout as Netanyahu Speaks at UN General Assembly

Dozens of delegates walked out of the chamber as Netanyahu gave a speech at the UN General Assembly, displaying the world's shifting sentiment towards the Israel-Hamas War.

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is currently taking place at the UN headquarters in New York City, beginning this week and running through December. They will then take a short winter break before returning in January, where delegates will address their final concerns before the assembly comes to an end.

In the assembly, every member state of the UN is entitled to a speech, including the two observer states, Vatican City and Palestine. Brazil usually speaks first, referencing a tradition from the early days of the UN when they would consistently volunteer as the first to speak, and the United States speaks second.

This year, US President Donald Trump gave an hourlong speech regarding his country's economy, financial state, and his recent actions against illegal immigrants and tariffs across the world, along with mentions of climate change and several ongoing wars.

One of those wars happens to be the Israel-Hamas War that is currently taking place in the Middle East, but drama ensued at the UNGA when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came up to speak.

In particular, Netanyahu put great effort into condemning countries whose support for Israel had faded in recent months, giving a defiant speech that sparked outrage among many delegates.

The response? Dozens of delegates simply walked out of the chamber during his speech, leaving few representatives inside. The incident comes just after various countries, including Australia, the UK, Canada, and Portugal, announced at the UNGA that they are formally recognizing Palestine as a state, leaving Israel fuming. Netanyahu described Palestine as "a terror state" and refused to ever accept them as a country, further proving his position against a two-state solution.

Netanyahu also mentioned that they will continue with the war, which is approaching its two-year anniversary on October 7– a grim milestone for a conflict that has killed over 65,000 Palestinians and displaced millions of others. Israel has repeatedly pledged that they will not concede until Hamas is absolutely obliterated, which means that they are likely to continue fighting in Gaza for some time.

Nevertheless, Trump, a close ally of Netanyahu, has confirmed that he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, where the Middle Eastern country has been slowly increasing settlements to break up Palestinian territory.

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Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

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Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Vociferous (adj, voh-SIF-uh-rus) - Vociferous describes people who express their feelings or opinions loudly and insistently. It is also applied to things, such as objections, that are expressed in such a way.

In a Sentence: We were vociferous in our support of the proposal.

Image credit to Al Jazeera