Netanyahu says backing Palestinian state sends message: Murdering Jews pays off

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply denounced Western countries on Friday for embracing Palestinian statehood, accusing them of sending the message that "murdering Jews pays off."

Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, the Israeli leader pushed back in his harshest terms yet against a flurry of diplomatic moves by leading U.S. allies that deepened Israel’s international isolation over its conduct of a nearly two-year-old war against Hamas militants in Gaza.

"This week, the leaders of France, Britain, Australia, Canada and other countries unconditionally recognized a Palestinian state. They did so after the horrors committed by Hamas on October 7 -- horrors praised on that day by nearly 90% of the Palestinian population."

"You know what message the leaders who recognize the Palestinian state this week sent to the Palestinians?" Netanyahu said. "It's a very clear message: murdering Jews pays off."

With more countries joining the list of those endorsing Palestinian independence, the most right-wing government in Israeli history has made its strongest declaration yet that there will be no Palestinian state as it pushes on with its fight against Hamas following the militants' October 7, 2023, rampage in Israel. Hamas-led fighters killed some 1,200 people according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's military response has killed more than 65,000 people in Gaza, according to local health officials, and left much of the territory in ruins.

SCORES OF DELEGATES WALK OUT AHEAD OF SPEECH

Scores of delegates exited the hall as Netanyahu took the stage while attendees in the balcony rose to their feet to give him a standing ovation.

"Over time, many world leaders buckled. They buckled under the pressure of a biased media, radical Islamist constituencies and antisemitic mobs. There's a familiar saying, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Well, for many countries here, when the going got tough, you caved," Netanyahu said.

"Behind closed doors, many of the leaders who publicly condemn us privately thank us. They tell me how much they value Israel's superb intelligence services that have prevented, time and again, terrorist attacks in their capitals."

Frustration over Israel’s military siege and U.S. President Donald Trump’s unwillingness to rein Netanyahu in has spilled into the open at the annual New York gathering where, in a dramatic shift, Australia, Britain, Canada and France and several other nations embraced a Palestinian state.

They said such action was needed to preserve the prospect for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and help bring the war to a close.

Netanyahu followed to the rostrum Arab and Muslim leaders who this week accused Israel of genocide and war crimes in Gaza. The Israeli government has vehemently denied this.

The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in the Gaza war. Israel rejects the court's jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza. Netanyahu rebutted on Friday what he called "the false charge of genocide."

Hamas has offered to release all remaining hostages – only about 20 of whom are said to be alive out of a total of 48 -- in exchange for Israel agreeing to end the war and withdrawing from Gaza.

NETANYAHU ADDRESSES HOSTAGES FROM ROSTRUM

"Much of the world no longer remembers October 7. But we remember," Netanyahu said. Speaking in Hebrew, the Israeli leader directed his remarks to the hostages still held in Gaza: "We've not forgotten you -- not even for a second."

Near the start of his speech, Netanyahu said he had loudspeakers placed at the Israeli side of the Gaza border to broadcast the address into the Palestinian enclave in hopes that hostages held there would hear his vow that they would not be forgotten.    

On Thursday, Trump told reporters that he thought a deal to end the war and release the remaining hostages held by Hamas was “close” – though he offered no explanation for his optimism about overcoming a months-long impasse in negotiations.

The right-wing Israeli leader, who spoke by phone to Trump on Thursday and will visit the White House on Monday, is under mounting pressure from the hostages’ families and, according to public opinion polls, a war-weary Israeli public. 

Netanyahu has insisted that the fight must go on until Hamas is completely dismantled. He is wary at the same time of losing the backing of far-right members in his fragile governing coalition if he softens his approach.

Netanyahu has retained the staunch support of the U.S., Israel's most important ally and main arms supplier. Trump told the U.N. on Tuesday that moves to recognize a Palestinian state risked rewarding Hamas for “horrible atrocities” and could encourage continued conflict.

Still, no matter how many countries recognize Palestine, full U.N. membership would require approval by the Security Council, where the United States has a veto.