Over 100 arrested in protests against war criminal Netanyahu in New York

More than 100 people have been arrested by New York City police outside the United Nations’ headquarters during protests against the appearance of war criminal Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the world body.

The arrests took place on Thursday as Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly hall which was left partially empty after dozens of delegates walked out in protest.

The demonstrators chanted slogans like “Let Gaza live,” “the whole world is watching,” and “Netanyahu you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!”

Some of them wore shirts reading “Fund people not bombs,” while others held up signs such as “Free Palestine,” “ Gaza remains Gaza resists,” “Cease genocide,” and “sanction Israel”.

“We’re here not just to oppose Netanyahu but to say stop arming Israel and the genocide,” said Stefanie Fox, the executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, which coordinated one of the demonstrations. “We demand an end to the impunity and complicity right here.”

Among those detained were New York congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier and city councilman Chi Ossé, as well as actresses Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder.

“I think human dignity is more important than any political calculus,” Chevalier told reporters shortly before being arrested. “The deep irony is the person with the arrest warrant for crimes against humanity is not the one that will be facing arrest today.”

‘Walkout spoke louder than Netanyahu’s speech’

In an X post on Friday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said Netanyahu came to the UN General Assembly to justify the Zionist regime’s war and aggression.

“However, the walkout of 77 delegations spoke louder than any speech could. The world is not falling for this attempt to shape the narrative. History will judge crimes, occupation, and aggression—not propaganda shows in New York,” he noted.

‘Growing isolation’: 77 delegations walk out of Netanyahu’s UN speech

Scores of delegations have left the UN General Assembly hall shortly before Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech, amid growing international isolation of the occupying regime.

Netanyahu is the subject of an international arrest warrant, issued in 2024 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over war crimes during the genocide in the Gaza Strip. He is facing growing international isolation and a fight for political survival in Israel’s upcoming elections.

At his inflammatory UN address, the terrorist Israeli prime minister denied the genocide in Gaza. He also held up a Starlink satellite internet provider and said he would leave it for Iran’s delegation to use. 

Later, Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon approached an Iranian representative to offer the Starlink terminal, sparking widespread backlash online, with many condemning the act as diplomatic harassment.

The reference to Starlink comes as Israel has already admitted that it smuggled thousands of such terminals inside Iran to support foreign-backed rioters in order to bring down the Iranian government. 

Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu had left the US for the occupied territories directly after his speech. 

They added that Netanyahu’s visit to the city was likely curtailed due to security concerns.

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