New York: Thousands March to Denounce Netanyahu at UNGA

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly, thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched only a few blocks away to demand his arrest. Demonstrators first rallied in Times Square, hearing from a variety of speakers from organizations across the pro-Palestine and anti-war movement, then the crowd marched west to the UN headquarters.

Netanyahu gave his second UNGA address since the beginning of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza on the morning of September 26.

“Netanyahu is inside the UN right now. Having just spoken to a mostly empty room about Israel’s war on Gaza,” said Palestinian Youth Movement organizer Nidaa Lafi. “Rest assured Netanyahu, everywhere you go, you will be met with empty rooms.”

(Photo: Midia Ninja)

Over 100 diplomats from over 50 countries walked out of the UN General Assembly while Netanyahu spoke. The Israeli Prime Minister vowed to “finish the job” in Gaza, where over – including over – Palestinians have already been killed by Israeli forces.

Netanyahu also said the recognition of a Palestinian state would be “insane”, and akin to “giving al-Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after September 11. At the present moment, 157 out of 193 UN member states recognize Palestine as an independent state. 

In an unprecedented operation, Israeli forces broadcast Netanyahu’s speech via loudspeakers within the Gaza Strip. In a step further, Netanyahu’s office claimed that the Israeli military had taken control of the phones of Gaza residents “and Hamas members” to broadcast the speech – though no evidence has thus far supported this claim.

“It’s clear more than ever that the interests of the Palestinian people are one and the same with American workers,” Nadya Tannous of the Palestinian Youth Movement told Peoples Dispatch. “Everyday human beings who want to see our tax dollars sent towards our infrastructure, our education, our healthcare, our children, rather than being sent in the billions to weapons for the state of Israel.”

“Our fates are all tied together as a global working class,” Navruz, a member of the United Auto Workers, told Peoples Dispatch while he was marching in New York City. “We’re all morally compelled. We’re seeing unions in Europe threaten to shut down ports, we see the power that workers have, and we need to be organizing in our workplaces, organizing with our coworkers to stop the genocide.”

Gustavo Petro addresses pro-Palestine demonstrators at UN (Photo via Palestinian Youth Movement)

When the crowd of thousands of demonstrators arrived at the United Nations headquarters, they were joined by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, days after delivering a scathing rebuke of Israel’s actions in Gaza at the UNGA. 

“What is happening in Gaza is genocide. There is no other way to put it: it is an attempt to wipe out the Palestinian people,” Petro declared before the assembled crowd of protesters, standing alongside Pink Floyd musician and activist Roger Waters. Petro urged the people of the US to “disobey the order of Trump” and to instead “obey the order of humanity.”

Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch