Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 41-minute speech at the United Nations, which did not mention President Donald Trump’s new initiative to end the war, drew largely predictable reactions.
President Isaac Herzog praised Netanyahu for his “eloquent and precise words against the false genocide accusations. We must stand firm: to urgently bring our loved ones home from captivity and build a future of hope and security for us and for the entire region.”
Netanyahu's full speech at the UN
(Video: UN)
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the address was “a determined and clear speech that emphasized the justness of Israel’s war against the axis of Islamic evil and the vision of expanding the Abraham Accords to peace with additional countries in the region. Our mission is clear: to bring home all the hostages, defeat Hamas and guarantee the security of the State of Israel.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called it “a powerful and important speech at the UN podium. We must continue with full force: to quickly defeat the Hamas monsters in Gaza, stop the so-called humanitarian aid that the prime minister said in his speech is being stolen by Hamas, and bury the nightmare of a Palestinian state — crush the terrorist organization that calls itself the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria, which must be an inseparable part of the State of Israel. Until complete victory.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionism party, said: “Important statements by the prime minister. Again he laid down essential and clear principles, both morally and practically: we will not stop until Hamas is defeated and the hostages are returned. And we will never agree to a Palestinian state. Even if it is hard, even if it has costs, even if it takes time. Moral principles that are so simple. It is sad that there are people in Israel and the world for whom this simple morality is foreign. But with God’s help, and with the courage and determination of our wonderful people, truth and goodness will prevail.”
In contrast, opposition leaders focused on very different points. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said: “Today the world saw an Israeli prime minister who was tired and whining, in a speech overloaded with used-up gimmicks. Netanyahu did not present a plan to bring back the hostages, did not offer a path to end the war, did not explain why after two years Hamas has still not been defeated. Instead of stopping the diplomatic tsunami, Netanyahu today worsened Israel’s situation.”
Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu, said: “This was a speech of a party leader, not the prime minister of everyone. The most important sentence — ending the war in exchange for the release of all the hostages — unfortunately was not said.”
Yair Golan, head of the Democrats, wrote: “No hostages, no end to the war, no strengthening Israel’s position in the world — just victimhood, hypocrisy and total insensitivity to the suffering of the hostages and the sacrifices of the soldiers. Netanyahu is a disconnected man who is dangerous for Israel.”
Military speakers in Gaza
On the reported placement of loudspeakers in Gaza to broadcast Netanyahu’s speech, Golan added: “The mission given to the IDF to broadcast Netanyahu’s speech is wrong, childish and deranged. This is propaganda theater by a disconnected man. The chief of staff is expected to push back on such orders — it is Herzi Halevi’s duty to preserve the IDF as the people’s army, not a plaything in the hands of a delusional, detached leader.”
By contrast, Benny Gantz, chairman of the Blue and White party — who has recently softened his criticism of Netanyahu — said that in the speech, “the prime minister described sharply and clearly the just and necessary war we are fighting for our security, as well as for regional stability and world order. At the same time, the prime minister’s main role is not to speak but to act. Not just to speak to the hostages but to ensure their return. Not just to talk about replacing Hamas but to work toward creating a governing alternative. If we initiate proposals, if we engage our friends in the international community, if we also act in the diplomatic arena — then we can enlist the world, not only criticize it.”
Naftali Bennett, the former prime minister whose party is projected in polls to win the second-highest number of seats after Likud, did not comment directly on the speech. Minutes after it ended, and before the start of Shabbat, he simply wrote: “Shabbat Shuva. Returning to ourselves. To the good Israel, the contributing and serving Israel, to freedom, to tradition, to mutual responsibility, to the values on which we were raised.”