Delegates walk out as Netanyahu addresses UN

Israel’s increasingly isolated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took centre stage at the United Nations General Assembly yesterday, defending his decision to attack Iran as an easy one.

Hamas said it was ready to move forward on a Gaza peace agreement, while a top European Union official said only a small amount of the funds needed to rebuild the Gaza Strip has been collected.

Allegations of Israeli genocide in Gaza are “the biggest lie of the century”, Netanyahu told world leaders in a defiant speech before the UN General Assembly.

Netanyahu’s appearance in the hall was met with a mix of cheers, boos and mass walkouts. Scores of delegates trooped out and a majority of seats sat empty as he spoke.

“If there are any other moral cowards who have not yet left the hall, please do so now,” Netanyahu said.

His voice rising in emphasis, Netanyahu said attacking Iran “was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make” and denounced as “moral cowards” delegates who walked out of the hall.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was forced to address the UN in a pre-recorded video after the United States again denied him a visa to attend the General Assembly.

The 90-year-old leader’s popularity at home and relevance abroad have both waned. But, in his remarks, Abbas made clear he did not intend to quietly accept being sidelined.

“We will not leave our homeland. We will not accept displacement. And we will not allow anyone to decide our future on our behalf,” Abbas said.

Though world leaders have repeatedly invoked the plight of Palestinians in speeches throughout the week, Abbas urged the international community to take more tangible action against Israel.

It was the second straight year Abbas was denied a visa.

A Hamas spokesman said the group is ready to move forward with the next steps of a peace agreement, after Trump’s Board of Peace unveiled a six-month, US$2.45-billion plan for Gaza’s reconstruction.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem expressed the Palestinian militant group’s “full readiness to implement the Board of Peace’s roadmap” but made no mention of any disarmament plans.

Israel has said it will not allow reconstruction until Hamas disarms.

Last year, Hamas agreed to a plan that includes disarmament but has since traded accusations with Israel of ceasefire violations and has accused Israel of violating the agreement by continuing to occupy much of Gaza.

A top EU official said only US$1.1 billion has been raised out of the US$80.8 billion that the United Nations, the World Bank and the 27-nation European Union estimate are needed to rebuild Gaza.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen say they have fired dozens of ballistic missiles and drones on Saudi Arabia’s southwestern Jazan province.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels targeted operations rooms, command centres, weapons depots and other Saudi military sites. He didn’t say when the attacks took place.