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Netanyahu And Abbas Trade Clashing Gaza Narratives In 2026 U.N. Addresses
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas traded sharply conflicting accounts of the Gaza war at the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Thursday, September 24, 2026.[1]
Netanyahu called allegations that Israel committed genocide "the biggest lie of the century" and told critics to leave as scores of delegates staged a coordinated walkout when he approached the podium.[1] He thanked U.S. President Donald Trump from the rostrum for what he called "decisive action" against Iran and said attacking Iran "was one of the easiest decisions I've ever had to make." PBS He also displayed a pager and referenced a September 17, 2024 attack in which Israel remotely detonated thousands of pagers distributed to Hezbollah, saying the device operation wounded more than 3,000 and killed 12.[1]
Abbas delivered a prerecorded address from his office in Ramallah because the United States again denied visas to him and other senior Palestinian officials for the U.N. meeting.[2] In the video he said Palestinians in Gaza face a "genocidal war" and an "unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe," and he accused Israeli forces of killing, starvation, destruction and attempts at displacement while saying settlers are expanding and fragmenting the West Bank.[2]
Coverage updated Gaza casualty figures to at least 73,922 Palestinians killed, alongside reporting that 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 were kidnapped in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack.[1] Netanyahu dismissed West Bank settler violence as the work of a "handful of young juvenile delinquents" and said he "won't stand for vigilantism," though critics note his government includes settler allies and arrests have been rare.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On Thursday, September 24, 2026, at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Netanyahu called allegations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza “the biggest lie of the century.”
- A coordinated walkout staged by scores of delegates — organized after a Palestinian Mission message urged delegations to bring staff and ‘collectively walk out’ once Netanyahu was announced — left many visible seats empty as the assembly president repeatedly called for order.
- From the U.N. rostrum Netanyahu thanked Donald Trump for what he called ‘decisive action’ against Iran, said attacking Iran ‘was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make,’ and asserted Israel was defending countries whose delegates walked out.
- Netanyahu displayed a pager and reminded delegates that on September 17, 2024 Israel remotely detonated thousands of pagers distributed to Hezbollah in Lebanon, an attack that the piece says wounded more than 3,000 people and killed 12, including two children.
- Netanyahu dismissed West Bank settler violence as the work of a ‘handful of young juvenile delinquents’ and said he ‘won’t stand for vigilantism,’ while critics note his government includes settler allies and arrests have been rare.
- Mahmoud Abbas delivered a prerecorded address from his office in Ramallah because the United States again denied visas to him and other top Palestinian officials for the U.N. gathering, the second consecutive year of such denials.
- In his prerecorded speech Abbas said Palestinians in Gaza are facing a ‘genocidal war’ and an ‘unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,’ accusing Israeli forces of killing, destruction, starvation and attempts at displacement while alleging settlers are escalating violence and settlement expansion as part of a ‘malicious colonial scheme.’
- The coverage updates Gaza war casualty figures to at least Gaza Health Ministry totals of 73,922 Palestinians killed, alongside reporting that 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 were kidnapped in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack.
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- On Thursday, September 24, 2026, at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Netanyahu called allegations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza 'the biggest lie of the century.'
- In the same speech he said attacking Iran 'was one of the easiest decisions I've ever had to make' and asserted Israel was defending many countries whose delegates walked out.
- Scores of delegates staged a coordinated walkout as he approached the podium, leaving a majority of visible seats empty while the General Assembly president repeatedly called for order.
- Netanyahu invited remaining critics to leave by saying, 'If there are any other moral cowards who have not yet left the hall, please do so now.'
- He thanked U.S. President Donald Trump from the U.N. rostrum for 'decisive action' against Iran and claimed foreign leaders privately thank Israel for 'taking out Iran's nukes.'
- He displayed a pager and reminded delegates that on September 17, 2024, Israel remotely detonated thousands of pagers distributed to Hezbollah in Lebanon, wounding more than 3,000 people and killing 12, including two children.
- The article recounts that a Palestinian Mission message urged delegations to bring as many staff as possible to the hall and to 'collectively walk out' once Netanyahu was announced, to signal opposition to alleged genocide, war crimes and occupation.
- It notes the U.S. has denied visas to Mahmoud Abbas and other senior Palestinian officials for the U.N. gathering for a second consecutive year, leading Abbas to speak via prerecorded video from Ramallah earlier on Thursday.
- The piece updates Gaza war casualty figures to at least 73,922 Palestinians killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, alongside 1,200 Israelis killed and 251 kidnapped in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack.
- Netanyahu dismissed West Bank settler violence as the work of a 'handful of young juvenile delinquents' and said he 'won't stand for vigilantism,' while critics note his government includes settler allies and that arrests have been rare.
- On Thursday, September 24, 2026, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a prerecorded address to the U.N. General Assembly that was played in New York.
- Abbas said Palestinians in Gaza are facing a 'genocidal war' and described the situation there as an 'unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.'
- He accused Israeli forces of killing, destruction, starvation and attempts at displacement, and said Israeli settlers are escalating violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank while fragmenting the territory and isolating East Jerusalem.
- Abbas said what is happening in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem is part of a 'malicious colonial scheme' aimed at making Palestinian life so difficult that people are forced to leave.
- Abbas noted that the Palestinian leadership had welcomed President Donald Trump's 20-point plan and a U.N. Security Council resolution and implementation roadmap but said none of it had materialized on the ground.
- The address was prerecorded from Abbas's office in Ramallah because the United States again denied visas to him and other top Palestinian officials to attend the General Assembly in person, the second consecutive year of such denials.