Mass Walkout Leaves UN General Assembly Chamber Mostly 'Empty' for Netanyahu Speech

Dozens of delegates in the United Nations General Assembly walked out in protest on Friday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to deliver an address.

Video posted on X by Axios reporter Barak Ravid showed United Nations delegates from multiple countries standing up from their seats and exiting the chamber as Netanyahu took to the podium and prepared to deliver his address.

The mass walkout left the assembly hall mostly "empty," Ravid subsequently reported.

The protests against Netanyahu came as Israel is causing a famine in Gaza with its near-total blockade on humanitarian aid, which has killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians. Israel has launched a full invasion of Gaza, and its right-wing government has explicitly said that it plans on expelling all Palestinians who are still living in the exclave. The Israel Defense Forces' assault has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians since October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel has become increasingly isolated on the international stage in recent weeks, as the governments of France, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia have all formally recognized Palestine as an independent state.

New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who has vowed to arrest the Israeli prime minister on war crimes charges filed last year by the International Criminal Court should he set foot in the city during the progressive's potential mayoral tenure, blasted Netanyahu for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza while again pledging to do everything he could to hold him accountable.

"This morning, Benjamin Netanyahu will address the United Nations—an institution which has concluded his government is committing a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza," he said in a social media post, referring to a UN commission's finding earlier this month. "He arrived in New York after a flight that added hours to its path to circumvent the airspace of countries which might enforce the International Criminal Court's warrant for his arrest."

Mamdani added that "during the course of his speech, another Palestinian child will undoubtedly be killed by the Israeli military in Gaza, as they have been every single hour for nearly two years."

Trita Parsi, the executive vice president at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, argued that the mass walkout was symbolic of Israel's near-total isolation in the international community.

"I don't recall seeing such a large walkout for quite some time at UNGA," he said. "Israel has chosen to be a pariah and is increasingly treated as such by the international community."

CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin joked that she felt envious of those delegates who left the assembly hall.

"Those who walked out when Netanyahu was speaking at the UN are the fortunate ones," the longtime peace advocate wrote. "Those of us who listened to his speech online are feeling sick. He is such a bold-faced liar and a mass murderer."