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UNITED NATIONS, New York – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscored the conflicts in the Middle East as a choice between "a blessing or a curse," as he warned Iran’s "tyrants" about Israel’s ability to defend and avenge itself.
"If you strike us, we will strike you," Netanyahu said. "There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that’s true of the entire Middle East: Far from being lambs led to the slaughter, Israel’s soldiers have fought back with incredible courage and with heroic sacrifice."
Netanyahu took the podium in front of a partially empty General Assembly, with some delegates walking out, but those who gathered to hear him offered raucous applause ahead of his speech. Seemingly absent from the speech was the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was hosting a global health security event on the sidelines of UNGA.
He revealed that he almost did not attend the U.N. High-Level Week, but he felt a need to "set the record straight," which included laying out the choice the world faces.
Netanyahu brought several families with loved ones held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza to New York and once again called for their freedom, noting that, "I'll say this one more time, we remain focused on our sacred mission, bringing our hostages home. And we will not stop until that mission is complete."
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"Israel seeks peace," Netanyahu said. "Israel yearns for peace. Israel has made peace and will make peace again – yet, we face savage enemies who seek our annihilation, and we must defend ourselves against those savage murderers."
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
Netanyahu framed the issue as a choice between "a blessing or a curse," with Iran’s "unremitting aggression" as the "curse" against the "blessing" of reconciliation between Arab nations and Israel.
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"A normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel seemed closer than ever. But then came the curse of Oct. 7," Netanyahu said. "Thousands of Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists from Gaza burst into Israel in pickup trucks, on motorcycles. And they committed unimaginable atrocities."
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
The prime minister hammered again on Iran’s aggression, warning that if left unchecked, it will "endanger every single country in the Middle East and many, many countries in the rest of the world."
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"Iran seeks to impose its radicalism well beyond the Middle East," Netanyahu warned. "That's why it funds terror networks on five continents. That's why it builds ballistic missiles for nuclear warheads to threaten the entire world."
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu holds signs as he addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
"For too long, the world is appeasing Iran. It turns a blind eye to its internal repression. It turns a blind eye to its external aggression," he added. "Well, that appeasement must end, and that appeasement must end now."
Netanyahu called on the U.N. Security Council to "snap back" sanctions against Iran and do everything in the organization’s power to "ensure that Iran never gets nuclear weapons."
However, he lamented that the organization has an apparent bias against Israel and in favor of the Palestinians, citing the "automatic majority" of countries that will vote in favor of any policy that hurts Israel.
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"For the Palestinians, this U.N. House of darkness is home court," Netanyahu said. "They know that in this swamp of antisemitic bile, there's an automatic majority willing to demonize the Jewish state on anything in this anti-Israel, flat Earth society. Any false charge, any outlandish allegation can muster a majority."
"It's always been about Israel, about Israel's very existence, and I say to you, until Israel, until the Jewish state is treated like other nations, until this antisemitic swamp is drained, the U.N. will be viewed by fair-minded people everywhere as nothing more than a contemptuous force," he added.
Fox News' David Hammelburg contributed to this story.