DOMINANT ANGLE
Pretoria is gauging Netanyahu's speech against the backdrop of international judicial proceedings already underway against Israel, ranging from a genocide complaint before the International Court of Justice to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
According to SABC News, over 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the enclave's health authorities, while the accusation of genocide remains pending before the International Court of Justice.
- 02
The Citizen recalls that the International Criminal Court estimated in 2024 that it had "reasonable grounds to believe" that Netanyahu is responsible for war crimes during the Gaza campaign.
- 03
Netanyahu called the outgoing delegations "moral cowards", saying: "If there are other moral cowards who have not left this room, let them do so now", reports the Daily Maverick.
ANALYSIS
Pretoria, Friday, September 25, 2026. At the United Nations General Assembly podium on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu described the accusation of genocide in Gaza as the "biggest lie of the century", claiming that Israel had not committed genocide but had prevented it. The South African press, which covered the speech through the lens of the already opened judicial proceedings against Israel, recalled that this accusation remains pending before the International Court of Justice, while Netanyahu himself is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
The Citizen reports that the ICC had estimated in 2024 that it had "reasonable grounds to believe" that Netanyahu bore responsibility for war crimes committed during the Gaza campaign, which was opened after the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. Netanyahu disputes these findings.
On the diplomatic front, dozens of delegations left the room at the call of the Palestinian mission as soon as the Israeli leader took the floor, prompting jeers; he called them "moral cowards", saying: "If there are other moral cowards who have not left this room, let them do so now." His own supporters in the stands applauded and sang in Hebrew.
SABC News, which frames the speech in the general UN debate, notes that the health toll in Gaza continues to weigh on the perception of the conflict: according to the health authorities of the enclave, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the Israeli military campaign. Israel claims to be targeting Hamas and denies any genocidal intent.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who was prevented from traveling to New York after the US refused to grant him a visa, spoke via video and rejected the E1 colonization plan, calling on the UN to act "urgently" to prevent any forced displacement of the population.
Netanyahu also targeted New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whom he described as "anti-Semitic" after Mamdani described him as "the architect of a horrible genocide against the Palestinians". Mamdani, who had considered executing the ICC's arrest warrant before recognizing he did not have the legal authority to do so, responded that "no lie can change the fact that he remains under an arrest warrant". The speech comes five weeks before Israeli legislative elections, where Netanyahu's political survival is at stake.
