Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday drew sharp responses from Qatar, Turkey and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after he used the speech to accuse all three of hostility toward Israel and helping spread anti-Israel narratives.
Netanyahu devoted part of his address to what he described as an international campaign to turn public opinion against Israel, singling out Qatar for its funding of universities and media organizations.
UN delegates stage mass walkout before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s UN General Assembly address
(Video: UN WEB TV)
“Decades ago, [Qatar] started massively funding American universities and toxic media outlets like Al Jazeera,” Netanyahu said. “They did the same in Europe, by the way. Their goal was clear. Brainwash young minds to hate Israel, hate America and hate the West.”
Netanyahu also criticized Qatar for hosting senior Hamas officials, calling it “the same Qatar that hosts the Hamas butchers of Oct. 7,” referring to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Hamad Al-Muftah, deputy chief of mission at the Qatari Embassy in Washington, responded by pointing to the reception Netanyahu received at the General Assembly, where dozens of delegates walked out as the Israeli leader took the podium. “Speaking to [a] half-empty room during his UN remarks says plenty about the support for this message,” Al-Muftah wrote on X.
Al-Muftah rejected Netanyahu’s claims about Qatari funding of American universities, saying most of the money had supported branches of U.S. universities at Education City, a sprawling academic complex in Doha that hosts campuses affiliated with several American institutions.
“Blaming Qatar for a political [sic] failures does not change the facts,” Al-Muftah said. He said the universities retain academic responsibility for their programs and that Qatar does not dictate what happens on their U.S. campuses.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the UN General Assembly
(Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
The Qatari diplomat also defended Doha’s decision to host Hamas representatives, saying their presence had allowed Qatar to serve as an intermediary in negotiations involving Israel, Hamas, the United States and Egypt.
“You also know exactly why Hamas representatives have been based in Doha,” Al-Muftah said. “U.S. officials have repeatedly described Qatar’s mediation role as critical or indispensable.”
“At a moment of profound regional and domestic political turmoil, attacking one of the countries doing the difficult work of mediation does nothing to solve the problem,” he added.
Qatar has for years served as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, including in negotiations over hostages held in Gaza and ceasefires. Meanwhile, its ties with Hamas and its financial relationship with the Gaza Strip have made it a frequent target of criticism in Israel.
Mamdani accuses Netanyahu of ‘baseless lies’
Netanyahu also used his speech to directly attack New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, one of Israel’s most prominent political critics in the United States.
Mamdani responded by accusing Netanyahu of using the UN platform to defend Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani
(Photo: CNN)
“As he has done time and again, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians,” Mamdani said. “Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Israel rejects allegations that it has committed genocide in Gaza. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, allegations Israel also rejects. The United States and Israel are not members of the ICC.
Netanyahu, for his part, accused Mamdani of creating an atmosphere in which Jews no longer feel safe in New York and of associating with people he portrayed as supporters or sympathizers of Hamas.
“You praised criminals convicted of supporting Hamas,” Netanyahu said. “You count as friends people like Hassan Piker, who said America deserved 9/11,” he added, referring to a popular left-wing streamer.
Netanyahu also accused Mamdani of hosting a Palestinian journalist who, he said, had filmed Hamas terrorists abusing Israeli hostages but declined to release the footage to protect them. He accused Mamdani’s wife of liking social media posts that praised the Oct. 7 attack and said Tel Aviv should not exist. The claims were part of Netanyahu’s broader attack on the mayor during the speech.
Netanyahu then addressed Mamdani directly.
“Mr. Madani, you tried to stop me from coming here, you tried to silence me,” Netanyahu said. “Well, you can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth.”
He followed with one of the central declarations of his address: “Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide.”
Netanyahu said Hamas would have sought to kill every Israeli had Israel not stopped it. Israel says its military campaign in Gaza is directed against Hamas and rejects accusations of genocide.
Mamdani has repeatedly called Netanyahu a war criminal and accused Israel of genocide in Gaza. Before becoming mayor, he also said Netanyahu should be arrested if he came to New York under the ICC warrant.
Hasan Piker responds
Hasan Piker, the Turkish American political commentator and online streamer singled out by Netanyahu, responded during a livestream.
Piker, a frequent critic of Israel, mocked Netanyahu with a derogatory nickname and argued that being mentioned by the Israeli prime minister supported his previous claims that pro-Israel groups had targeted him.
Hasan Piker
(Photo: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
“What’s really funny is that for the last three years I’ve been relentlessly attacked, mostly by Zionists,” Piker said. He said people had dismissed his suspicions that Israel was involved in attacks against him and asked whether it was normal for “the prime minister of Israel” to mention him before the UN General Assembly.
“Maybe my suspicions were correct,” he said, suggesting there had been a coordinated campaign against him.
Netanyahu’s reference to Piker concerned controversial comments the streamer made about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, saying America “deserved 9/11.”
Turkey condemns Netanyahu’s attack on Erdogan
Turkey also responded angrily after Netanyahu turned his attention to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, describing Turkey as the latest “superspreader of antisemitic lies.”
Netanyahu called Erdogan a “tyrant” and accused him of hosting Hamas leaders, killing thousands of Kurdish civilians, denying the Armenian genocide and imprisoning journalists and opposition figures.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
(Photo: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
“I think he holds the world record on this, and that’s a tough call,” Netanyahu said of Erdogan’s record of imprisoning critics. “But I think he’s number one.”
Netanyahu also accused Erdogan of expansionism, pointing to Turkey’s decadeslong military presence in northern Cyprus and its disputes with Greece.
“He illegally occupies northern Cyprus, an EU member, and he regularly transgresses against Greece, a NATO member,” Netanyahu said.
Cyprus itself is an EU member, while the breakaway Turkish Cypriot administration in the north is recognized only by Turkey. Turkish forces have remained in northern Cyprus since Turkey’s 1974 invasion following a coup backed by Greece’s then-ruling military junta.
Netanyahu also accused Erdogan of seeking greater control over Syria and threatening Israel.
“Now he wants to take over Syria,” Netanyahu said. “Well, that’s not surprising, because he calls for Israel’s destruction almost every single day.”
Netanyahu said Erdogan had spoken of ruling Jerusalem and responded: “No, sir, you won't. This is our country, our city, our eternal capital.”
Turkey rejected the accusations.
Burhanettin Duran, the Turkish presidency’s communications director, said Netanyahu’s use of the UN General Assembly to make what he called “baseless accusations” against Turkey and Erdogan was incompatible with the principles of peace, law and dialogue represented by the United Nations.
Duran invoked the ICC warrant against Netanyahu and accused him of responsibility for killings and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He said Netanyahu’s comments about Erdogan could not divert attention from Israel’s actions or the international legal proceedings involving the Israeli leader.
Turkey would continue under Erdogan to defend Palestinians and others it considers oppressed, Duran said, while advocating what he described as a more just international order and opposing persecution.
Relations between Israel and Turkey have deteriorated sharply since the Gaza war began. Erdogan has emerged as one of Israel’s most vocal international critics, repeatedly condemning its military campaign and accusing it of genocide, an allegation Israel rejects.
The exchanges with Qatar, Mamdani and Turkey came during a combative address in which Netanyahu defended Israel’s conduct in Gaza and its military operations elsewhere in the region, rejected allegations of genocide and accused governments and international critics of applying a double standard to Israel. His appearance was met by a walkout by dozens of delegates, while others remained in the chamber for the speech.