Key point 1 of Sweden coverage

Netanyahu calls the genocide accusation the "biggest lie of the century" and labels departing delegates "moral cowards" (Svenska Dagbladet)

Key point 2 of Sweden coverage

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard writes that "all countries should be able to defend their position before the General Assembly" (Dagens Nyheter)

Key point 3 of Sweden coverage

Turkish spokesperson Burhanettin Duran rejects Netanyahu's "baseless accusations", who had called Erdogan a "tyrant" (Aftonbladet)

Netanyahu calls the genocide accusation "the biggest lie of the century" at the UN, before a half-empty hall - Sweden Perspective

DOMINANT ANGLE

Sweden is first focusing on the procedure: according to Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, speaking at the UN this Thursday, each country should be able to speak before the General Assembly, regardless of the number of delegations that left the room during Benjamin Netanyahu's speech.

Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media

KEY POINTS

01
Netanyahu calls the genocide accusation the "biggest lie of the century" and labels departing delegates "moral cowards" (Svenska Dagbladet)
02
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard writes that "all countries should be able to defend their position before the General Assembly" (Dagens Nyheter)
03
Turkish spokesperson Burhanettin Duran rejects Netanyahu's "baseless accusations", who had called Erdogan a "tyrant" (Aftonbladet)

ANALYSIS

Stockholm, Friday, September 25, 2026. At the United Nations podium on Thursday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw dozens of delegations leave the room before he even began speaking. The Swedish press describes a continuous flow of people queuing to exit while Netanyahu launched: "If there are other moral cowards who have not yet left the room, do so now" (Svenska Dagbladet). He then described the accusation of genocide against Israel as "the greatest lie of the century".

Netanyahu justified the war against Iran, stating that "we would all be dead" if Israel and the United States had not struck Iranian nuclear facilities, a decision he said was "the easiest" of his career as prime minister. Sveriges Radio reports that he called the departing delegates "cowards" (ynkryggar) before defending the war waged with Washington.

In Stockholm, diplomacy chooses procedural restraint rather than commenting on the substance of the accusation. Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (Moderaterna) reacted to the departure of the delegations by writing that "all countries should be able to defend their position before the United Nations General Assembly" (Dagens Nyheter). No Swedish position on the substance of the speech appears in the consulted articles.

The speech also targeted New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who Netanyahu accused of spreading lies about Israel and making New York Jews less safe. Aftonbladet retraces the origin of the tension: Mamdani had promised during his campaign to have Netanyahu arrested if he set foot in New York, before acknowledging, after legal review, that the city did not have the power to do so. He nonetheless continues to describe him as a "war criminal" and "architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people". In the streets of Manhattan, hundreds of protesters blocked traffic around the UN headquarters; several personalities, including actress Susan Sarandon, were arrested, according to Aftonbladet.

Turkey rejected what the state agency Anatolia calls Netanyahu's "baseless accusations", which had described President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "tyrant" and accused Ankara of harboring Hamas leaders. Turkish spokesman Burhanettin Duran judges these remarks incompatible with UN values.

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ANALYSIS

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