Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran that there "is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach," delivering a fiery speech before the United Nations General Assembly as the Jewish state prepares for a ground invasion in Lebanon.
"I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran," he said. "If you strike us, we will strike you."
Netanyahu’s speech came as world leaders, including the United States, gathered at the U.N. and attempted to impose an emergency ceasefire on Israel and Hezbollah, which have been locked in the most intense fighting since the 2006 Lebanon war. As Israel capped more than a week of intensive airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds across Lebanon, Netanyahu said his country will not back down from the fight and will keep striking Hezbollah "until we meet our objectives."
At one point, Netanyahu, holding two maps, urged attending world leaders to choose between a "blessing" and a "curse." The "blessing" map depicted a bridge between Israel and Europe through the Middle East, while the "curse" highlighted Iran and its allies, Iraq and Syria.
"Which of these two maps that I showed you will shape our future?" he asked. "Will it be the blessings of peace and prosperity for Israel, our Arab partners, and the rest of the world? Or will it be the curse in which Iran and its proxies spread carnage and chaos everywhere?"
"And that is the choice we face today."
Speaking at the UN, PM Netanyahu shows the world two choices:
The curse of Iran spreading its malignant tyranny across the Middle East vs. the blessing of peace with Saudi Arabia bringing stability to the region. pic.twitter.com/ClpVJYPFKj
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) September 27, 2024
Netanyahu also had choice words for the U.N., blasting it as a "swamp of anti-Semitic bile" and a "house of darkness." Some attendees protested his speech, walking out of the general assembly as Netanyahu began talking.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin @netanyahu: "For the Palestinians, this UN house of darkness is home court. They know that in this swamp of antisemitic bile, there's an automatic majority willing to demonize the Jewish State on anything. In this anti-Israel flat-earth society..." pic.twitter.com/Iyiha4bZVB
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 27, 2024
Netanyahu took the stage at Turtle Bay just hours after Israeli forces bombed more Hezbollah sites, with Lebanon reporting "25 martyrs." In New York City, Netanyahu said Israel has "no choice" but to continue its defensive war against Hezbollah, which has been raining missiles and drones across northern and central Israel for nearly a year.
"As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely," he said. "And that’s exactly what we’re doing."
While Israel did not start the war, it is prepared to finish it, according to Netanyahu, who defended his country’s right to self-defense.
"The real war criminals are not in Israel," Netanyahu said, referring to attempts by multiple U.N. bodies to prosecute the Israeli leader for the ongoing military operations in Lebanon and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
"They’re in Iran. They’re in Gaza, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Yemen," he said. "Those of you who stand with these criminals, those of you who stand with evil against good, with the curse against the blessing, those of you who do so should be ashamed of yourselves."
Netanyahu went on to blast the International Criminal Court (ICC) for issuing a warrant to arrest him.
"Given the antisemitism at the U.N., it should surprise no one that the prosecutor at the ICC, one of the U.N’.s affiliate organs, is considering issuing arrest warrants against me and Israel’s defense minister—the democratically elected leaders of the democratic state of Israel," he said.
In the buildup to the speech, anti-Semitic agitators threw smoke bombs and tussled with police on the streets, leading to dozens of arrests. Hoards of keffiyeh-clad protesters also marched in front of the Lowes Regency Hotel, where Netanyahu is staying, shutting down streets around the building.
https://twitter.com/ScooterCasterNY/status/1839470414873178262
Despite escalated police presence and dozens of arrests trying to stop the @WOLPalestine march, the crowd reaches the Lowes Regency Hotel where Netanyahu is staying tonight while in town for the UN. @NerdeenKiswani tells the crowd they will be here all night chanting in protest. https://t.co/vECQH00UOj pic.twitter.com/7IcS6n7ur8
— Gerard (@GerardDalbon) September 27, 2024
Netanyahu on Thursday dismissed the latest proposal, led by the Biden-Harris administration and France, for a ceasefire with Hezbollah, though his office later said Israel "shares the aims of the US-led initiative of enabling people along our northern border to return safely and securely to their homes." Amir Avivi, an Israeli reserve brigadier general and Netanyahu adviser, scoffed at the proposal in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon.
"It's stupid. It's irrelevant. It's a joke," he said. "We shocked the enemy, and they want us to stop fighting for 21 days—for what, to let the enemy regroup? What kind of idea is that?"