Inside the UN walkout: Who left and who stayed for Netanyahu’s speech

Turkiye, Palestine, Tunisia, Syria, Algeria, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, Qatar, Lebanon, Malaysia, Indonesia and Kuwait were among the countries whose representatives joined the protest. Delegations from Spain, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Nigeria, Ghana, Libya, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Oman, Niger, Madagascar, Botswana, the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Cabo Verde and several other countries also walked out or remained absent.

Dozens of UN delegates walked out as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stage amid stark divisions over the war in Iran, Gaza's future and illegal settler violence.pic.twitter.com/Jvwe1lB8L8— TRT World (@trtworld)September 25, 2026The protest came amid continuing international condemnation of Israel’s assault on Gaza, its policies in theoccupied West Bankand itsattacks on Lebanonand. Syria.

A UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has rejected the finding. Netanyahu is also the subject of an International Criminal Courtarrest warrantissued on November 21, 2024, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.

Several Western delegations remained. Representatives of the United States, Germany, Argentina, Hungary, Serbia, Ukraine, Czechia and Greece remained in the General Assembly hall during Netanyahu’s address. The United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Belgium and Norway, whose relations with Israel have faced increasing tensions over Gaza, also kept representatives in the chamber, as did the European Union delegation.

Read:Macron denounces Trump's Gaza diplomacy as spectacle of shame. China, which has repeatedly criticised Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, was represented by a single diplomat. Delegations from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords, also remained in their seats.

Other countries represented during the speech included Australia, Austria, Canada, Portugal, Poland, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Iceland, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Kenya and El Salvador. The walkout left large sections of the General Assembly chamber visibly empty as Netanyahu continued his address.