DOMINANT ANGLE
Brussels is deciphering a speech that is as much electoral as it is diplomatic: Netanyahu, in the midst of a difficult re-election campaign, is transforming the UN podium into an indictment against his critics and a demonstration of firmness against Iran.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Netanyahu responded to the accusation of colonialism: "They accuse Israel, tiny Israel, of colonialism, what colonialism?", specifically targeting Britain and France as the inventors of the term.
- 02
Dozens of delegation members left the room during his speech, at the call of the Palestinian delegation in a message seen by AFP.
- 03
Netanyahu claimed to have prevented, along with the United States, Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and predicted that "the Iranian regime will eventually fall".
ANALYSIS
Brussels, September 25, 2026. At the United Nations General Assembly podium on Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu delivered, according to La Libre Belgique, "an indictment against Israel's critics" as international criticism intensifies over the occupied West Bank. The newspaper notes that the Israeli Prime Minister is "embarked on a difficult re-election campaign": the Belgian press sees this New York speech as an exercise aimed at the Israeli electorate as much as at global diplomacy.
In response to accusations of colonialism, Netanyahu retorted: "They accuse Israel, tiny Israel, of colonialism, what colonialism?" He specifically targeted two European countries: "Among them, there are people in the United Kingdom and France. Good grief, they're the ones who invented the term!" On Iran, he claimed to have prevented, along with the United States, Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons: "I have committed to preventing the murderous Iranian dictatorship from developing nuclear weapons intended to destroy Israel." He predicted that "the Iranian regime will eventually fall".
As was the case last year, dozens of delegation members left the room during his speech, a gesture initiated by the Palestinian delegation, which had called on other missions to participate in a message consulted by AFP, according to DH. The room, "rather empty since the beginning of the morning", had nonetheless filled up gradually before the speech. Netanyahu had anticipated the gesture by saying: "If there are still cowards in this room who have not left, let them do so now."
The Belgian press also notes the format of the visit: arriving in New York that morning, the Prime Minister was to leave immediately after his speech, for a lightning visit of less than 24 hours — a fact deemed unusual, as no meeting with American officials was scheduled. Neither La Libre nor DH mentions Qatar, Turkey, or the Mayor of New York: the Belgian account remains focused on the verbal sparring at the podium, the boycott of the room, and the Israeli electoral calendar, rather than on diplomatic fronts open elsewhere.
