DOMINANT ANGLE
Lima is dissecting the diplomatic void left by Netanyahu at the UN, between the ICC arrest warrant and New York streets mobilized against his presence.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
According to Gestión, Netanyahou said before his speech: "If there are other moral cowards who want to leave the room, let them do so now", as large areas of the hemicycle remained empty.
- 02
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahou for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the offensive in Gaza, Gestión recalls.
- 03
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for the warrant to be executed on the city's soil, while acknowledging that jurisdiction belongs to federal authorities, Gestión reports.
ANALYSIS
Lima, September 25, 2026. At the United Nations General Assembly podium on Thursday, the void left by the departure of dozens of delegations during Benjamin Netanyahu's speech occupies the Peruvian press more than the content of his speech itself. Gestión describes a room where "the exit of delegates left large empty areas" during one of the most anticipated speeches of the High-Level Week, and reports the phrase launched by the Israeli Prime Minister even before starting: "If there are other moral cowards who want to leave the room, let them do so now." The newspaper also notes, in the stands, sympathizers wearing kippas and pins with the Israeli flag, some chanting their support and applauding standing up.
Gestión mainly links the episode to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza offensive. The media reports the call of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani to execute this warrant on the territory of his city; the official claims to have studied the available legal avenues, while recognizing that the jurisdiction belongs to federal authorities, not municipal ones.
On the sidelines of the UN enclosure, RPP Noticias documents a demonstration of about thirty people in an adjacent street, banners demanding a "free Palestine" and a costume comparing the Israeli leader to the devil. A Queens resident, identified as Meg, confides her "deep shame" towards an organization that, in her opinion, allows this "war criminal" to speak when an arrest warrant weighs against him. Another protester, Elle, believes that the institution should have detained him, in the name of the support it should give to the International Criminal Court. The day took place calmly, despite tense exchanges with pro-Israeli counter-protesters present on site.
This dual perspective, the emptying room on the institutional side and the mobilized street on the popular side, outlines for Lima less a debate on the substance of the genocide accusation than on the legitimacy of Netanyahu's presence at the UN podium, with international arrest warrant in support.
