DOMINANT ANGLE
Dhaka is deciphering an offensive speech that is emptying the General Assembly more than it is uniting, with attacks against Doha, Ankara, London, and Paris, and Israel's growing diplomatic isolation ahead of the October legislative elections.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Dozens of delegates walked out of the General Assembly as Netanyahu took the floor, following a memo from the Palestinian mission, according to The Daily Star citing AFP.
- 02
Netanyahu labelled New York City councilman Zohran Mamdani an "anti-Semite"; the latter responded that the Israeli prime minister had repeated "baseless lies" to whitewash a genocide against Palestinians.
- 03
New York City police arrested at least thirty protesters outside UN headquarters, including actresses Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder, during a rally organized by Jewish Voice for Peace.
ANALYSIS
Dhaka, September 25, 2026. The speech delivered on Thursday by Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu before the UN General Assembly is drawing attention from the Bangladeshi press less for its content than for the emptying of the room as he spoke. According to TBS News and The Daily Star, dozens of delegates left the hemicycle as Netanyahu took the floor, responding to a memo from the Palestinian mission calling on other delegations to join the protest gesture. Netanyahu called those who remained standing "moral cowards" and urged all others to do the same, while his own supporters in the stands chanted in Hebrew and the session president called for calm.
The Israeli prime minister, in the midst of a campaign for elections on October 27 that he could lose, targeted multiple parties: New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who he labeled an "anti-Semite" and falsely accused of supporting Hamas, Qatar and Turkey, which he accused of spreading lies about Israel, as well as the United Kingdom and France, whose criticism of Israeli "colonialism" he mocked. He also called Iran a "murderous dictatorship". Mamdani retorted that Netanyahu had "repeated baseless lies intended to whitewash his genocide against the Palestinians". Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who was denied an American visa, spoke via video, denouncing Israeli policies that now threaten "the very life" of his people.
Outside, the New York police arrested at least thirty protesters in front of the UN headquarters, including actresses Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder, during a rally organized by Jewish Voice for Peace that brought together around 200 people in white t-shirts chanting "Fund people not bombs". A participating academic, Manijeh Moradian, denounced the "annihilation of an entire society" which she claimed was being carried out in the name of American taxpayers.
The Bangladeshi coverage thus focuses on this street theater and the verbal confrontation with Mamdani, without mentioning the genocide complaint filed by South Africa, pending before the International Court of Justice, or any direct reaction from Doha or Ankara to the accusations against them.
SOURCES (2)
- TBS Top NewsMEDIUM
- The Daily Star WorldMEDIUM
