The United Nations General Assembly hall was suddenly filled with\nempty seats as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to\ndeliver his speech. Delegations from nearly 70 countries chose to walk\nout as a form of protest against the Israeli genocide in Gaza and\nattacks across the region.<\/p>\n
Footage from the 81st UN General Assembly session shows dozens of\ndelegations leaving the room simultaneously as Netanyahu approached the\npodium. Several nations left only a single representative or junior\ndiplomat behind, while others did not attend the speech at all.<\/p>\n
Turkey, Palestine, Tunisia, Syria, Algeria, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi\nArabia, Jordan, Iran, Qatar, Lebanon, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Kuwait\nwere among the countries whose representatives joined the protest\naction.<\/p>\n
Delegations from Spain, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Nigeria, Ghana, Libya,\nBangladesh, Afghanistan, Oman, Niger, Madagascar, Botswana, the Bahamas,\nAntigua and Barbuda, Cape Verde, and several other nations also\nperformed the walk-out or were absent.<\/p>\n
The walk-out occurred amidst ongoing international condemnation of\nIsraeli attacks in Gaza, policies in the occupied West Bank, and strikes\nagainst Lebanon and Syria.<\/p>\n
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded in\nSeptember 2025 that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians\nin Gaza. However, Israel has rejected these findings.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu is also on the list of individuals subject to arrest under\nInternational Criminal Court (ICC) warrants issued on 21 November 2024.\nThe warrants relate to alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity\ncommitted in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
Despite dozens of nations leaving the room, several delegations\nremained present during Netanyahu\u2019s speech. Representatives from the\nUnited States, Germany, Argentina, Hungary, Serbia, Ukraine, the Czech\nRepublic, and Greece stayed in the UN General Assembly hall.<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Belgium, and Norway\u2014whose\ndiplomatic relations with Israel have faced tension due to the Gaza\nissue\u2014also kept their representatives in the room. European Union\ndelegations also remained on site.<\/p>\n
China, which has repeatedly criticised Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza and\nthe occupied West Bank, was represented by a single diplomat.\nDelegations from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which normalised\nrelations with Israel through the Abraham Accords, also remained in\ntheir seats.<\/p>\n
Other nations present during the speech included Australia, Austria,\nCanada, Portugal, Poland, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Estonia,\nLithuania, Luxembourg, Iceland, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Kenya,\nand El Salvador.<\/p>\n
The mass walk-out left large portions of the UN General Assembly hall\nappearing empty as Netanyahu continued his address.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there are any other moral cowards who have not yet left this\nroom, please do so now,\u201d Netanyahu remarked.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/empty-seats-mark-netanyahus-speech-as-nearly-70-nations-walk-out-1790351468", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }