


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his Friday speech before the UN General Assembly spent a lot of time hailing and thanking President Trump and the US for bombing Iran's nuclear facilities last June. But at the same time he lashed out at the leaders of France, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, and other countries for "unconditionally" recognizing a Palestinian state.
He declared that Israel is intent of finishing the job regardless, saying "Victory over Hamas will make peace possible with nations throughout the Arab and Muslim world." He continued, "Our victory would lead to a dramatic extension and expansion of the historic Abraham Accords, which President Trump brokered between Arab leaders and myself five years ago."
But that's not quite accurate, as the raging Gaza war and especially the Israeli strike on Doha which targeted Hamas negotiators have actually eroded regional trust in the Abraham Accords. Saudi Arabia has definitely put its normalization path on pause.
"I want to thank President Trump for his bold and decisive action," the Israeli leader told the assembly. "President Trump and I promised to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. And we delivered on that promise."
Palestinian officials who were present, along with many other officials, actually walked out near the start of Netanyahu's speech.
Interestingly, Netanyahu's speech and visual prop and map he held up at one point seemed a review of all the regime changes in the Middle East. "We removed an existential threat to Iran, to Israel, rather, and a mortal threat to the civilized world. We lifted a dark cloud that could have claimed millions and millions of lives. But, ladies and gentlemen, we must remain vigilant," he said.
Syria was also overthrown, and Lebanon's Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah assassinated last year. Recall too that Netanyahu was key in arguing that the Bush administration must invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein.
"We must not allow Iran to rebuild its military nuclear capacities. Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium. These stockpiles must be eliminated," we added, saying that Trump more than any other leader understood this "common threat". This suggests Israel could be gearing up for more military action against the Islamic Republic.
"They [the leaders] did so after the horrors committed by Hamas on Oct. 7," Netanyahu said. "Horrors praised on that day by nearly 90% of the Palestinian population.
"Let me say that again. Nearly 90% of Palestinians supported the attack on Oct. 7. It's not supported only. They celebrated it. They danced on the rooftops. They threw candies. That's both in Gaza and in Judea, Samaria – the West Bank, as you call it."
He went on: "And it's just the way they celebrated another horror. 9/11 they danced on the rooftops. They cheered. They threw candy."
As an important reminder...
That's when he again lambasted countries, including in Europe, which are supportive of a Palestinian state. "It's a very clear message. Murdering Jews pays off," he said. "Well, I have a message for these leaders. When the most savage terrorists on Earth are effusively praising your decision, you didn't do something right. You did something wrong, horribly wrong. Your disgraceful decision will encourage terrorism against Jews and against innocent people everywhere. It will be a mark of shame on all of you."