Dozens of delegates walked out of the UN General Assembly hall as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium on Thursday, with boos also heard as his address began.
The walkout came amid continuing international criticism of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and protests against Netanyahu outside the UN headquarters in New York.
Netanyahu remains subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over war crimes and crimes against humanity connected to the genocidal war in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s hands ‘dripping in blood’
Outside the United Nations headquarters in New York, crowds of protesters gathered to denounce Netanyahu as he was addressing the UNGA, with demonstrators demanding he face prosecution for war crimes.
"I'm so shocked and disgusted that the United Nations even allows the war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before it,” CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin told Anadolu. "I mean, this is somebody whose hands are dripping in blood, and so we're here to say we're the ones who represent the global community that says Netanyahu should not be here. He should be in The Hague facing war crimes.”
Demanding the US government be also tried at the Hague, she said: "The US government is complicit in this genocide and now an unprovoked illegal war in Iran. So, we're surrounded by war criminals, unfortunately."
She added that the crowd represented "the majority of people around the world who just want to live in peace."
‘Stop arming Israel’
Hundreds of people attended the protest, including actor Susan Sarandon. Some demonstrators wore T-shirts that read: "Fund people not bombs," and several were seen handcuffed and being led away by police.
Banners reading: "Stop bombing Iran, Lebanon, Palestine" and "Stop arming Israel" were waved throughout the demonstration.
