OTTAWA – Canada was not part of a mass walkout Friday morning during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations General Assembly.
The office of Canadian Ambassador Bob Rae says he remained seated during Netanyahu’s address as dozens of diplomats from other countries walked out of the chamber. The Canadian Press has reached out to Global Affairs Canada for comment but has not yet received a statement.
The presiding official had to call for order multiple times as delegations, including many from developing countries, rose to leave the room. The U.K. and the U.S. had lower-level diplomats attend the speech, The Associated Press reported.
In his speech, Netanyahu attacked the decision by multiple countries, including Canada, France and Australia, to recognize a Palestinian state.
“Your disgraceful decision will encourage terrorism against Jews and against innocent people everywhere,” he said.
Israel is facing a torrent of global condemnation and increasing isolation over its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, the starvation of Palestinian civilians and cross-border strikes such as the attack on Hamas negotiators in Qatar earlier this month.
Canada has taken part in UN walkouts in the past. In March 2022, just days into Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Canada’s foreign minister was part of a 40-country walkout in Geneva as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addressed two UN sessions.
Netanyahu spoke at length Friday about the hostages taken by Hamas nearly two years ago and threats emanating from Iran.
He told fellow world leaders in a defiant speech that Israel “must finish the job” against Hamas in Gaza.
“Western leaders may have buckled under the pressure,” he said. “And I guarantee you one thing — Israel won’t.”
As the Israeli leader spoke, unintelligible shouts echoed around the hall, while applause came from supporters in the gallery.
Netanyahu’s government faces growing international isolation, accusations of war crimes and increasing pressure to end a conflict he has continued to escalate.
He used the speech to cast Gaza as the lone remaining front in a wider war, listing recent military missions by Israel to target its enemies and contain threats to its security in Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.
The final challenge, Netanyahu said, is to root out what he called the “final remnants of Hamas.”
The Israeli government took steps to ensure Netanyahu’s speech was heard in Gaza itself. It set up loudspeakers to blast the speech into the territory, even though the Israeli military has pushed Palestinians away from its borders.
Netanyahu’s office has also claimed that the Israeli army had taken over mobile phones in Gaza to broadcast his message. Associated Press journalists inside Gaza reported seeing no immediate evidence of Netanyahu’s speech being broadcast on phones there.
Netanyahu said the special measures were taken in an attempt to reach the Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza. He spoke in Hebrew at one point, and he read the names of the 20 hostages who are believed to still be alive.
While more than 150 countries now recognize a Palestinian state, the United States has not and has continued to support Netanyahu’s government. But U.S. President Donald Trump signalled Thursday there are limits, telling reporters in Washington that he wouldn’t let Israel annex the occupied West Bank.
Israel hasn’t announced such a move but several leading members of Netanyahu’s government have called for annexation. Israeli officials recently approved a controversial settlement project that would effectively cut the West Bank in two, a move critics say could doom chances for a Palestinian state.
Canada has repeatedly cited that plan to explain why it chose to recognize a Palestinian state. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said both the Netanyahu government and Hamas are eroding prospects for a two-state solution.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas addressed the General Assembly via video on Thursday after the U.S. denied him a visa.
He welcomed the recent announcements of recognition but said the world needs to do more to make statehood happen.
“The time has come for the international community to do right by the Palestinian people,” he said.
With files from The Associated Press
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