PM Benjamin Netanyahu address to the 80th UN General Assembly, 26 Sep 2025 — two years into the Gaza war

Mr. President, the families of our dear hostages languishing in the dungeons of Gaza, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Last year, I stood at this podium, and I showed this map. It shows the curse of Iran's terror axis.

This axis threatened the peace of the entire world. It threatened the stability of our region and the very existence of my country Israel. Iran was rapidly developing a massive nuclear weapons program and a massive ballistic missile program. These were meant not only to destroy Israel, they were meant also to threaten the United States and blackmail nations everywhere.

From Gaza, Yahya Sinwar dispatched waves of Hamas terrorists. They stormed into Israel on October 7th and committed acts of unspeakable savagery.

From Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah had launched thousands of missiles and rockets at our cities, terrorizing our citizens.

In Syria, the murderous dictator Assad hosted Iran's forces, tightening a noose of death around our throats.

In Yemen, the Houthis launched ballistic missiles at Israel, while choking global trade at the mouth of the Red Sea.

So what's happened over the past year? We've hammered the Houthis, including yesterday. We crushed the bulk of Hamas's terror machine. We crippled Hezbollah, taking out most of its leaders and much of its weapons arsenal. Remember those beepers, the pagers? We paged Hezbollah. And believe me, they got the message — and thousands of terrorists dropped to the ground. We destroyed Assad's armaments in Syria. We deterred Iran's Shiite militias in Iraq. And most importantly, and above everything else that I could say to you or that we did in this past year, in this past decade: We devastated Iran's atomic weapons and ballistic missile programs.

Here's where things stand today. Half the Houthi leadership in Yemen — gone. Yahya Sinwar in Gaza — gone. Hasan Nasrallah in Lebanon — gone. The Assad regime in Syria — gone. Those militias in Iraq? Well, they're still deterred. And their leaders, if they attack Israel, will also be gone.

And for Iran's top military commanders and its top atomic bomb scientists — well, they're gone too.

Israel's 12-day war with Iran, which I renamed Operation Rising Lion — that's from the Bible — this 12-day war will go down in the annals of military history.

[…hostages list elided…]

Lay down your arms! Let my people go! Free the hostages! All of them. The whole 48. Free the hostages now! If you do, you will live. If you don't, Israel will hunt you down.

If Hamas agrees to our demands, the war could end right now. Gaza would be demilitarized, Israel would retain overriding security control, and a peaceful civilian authority would be established by Gazans and others committed to peace with Israel.

Of course, you understand that the war in Gaza has affected every Israeli. But I am sure there are people in New York, London, Melbourne and elsewhere who are probably thinking — what does all of this have to do with me? The answer is… EVERYTHING. Because our enemies are your enemies.

[… pop-quiz Death-to-America segment elided…]

When will you learn? You can't appease your way out of Jihad, and you won't escape the Islamist storm by sacrificing Israel. To overcome that storm, you have to stand with Israel. But that's not what you're doing. As the prophets of Israel foretold in the Bible, you've turned good into evil… and evil into good.

Take the false charge of genocide. Israel is accused of deliberately targeting civilians. Ladies and Gentlemen, the opposite is true.

[…Spencer / urban-warfare-ratio paragraphs elided…]

This week, the leaders of France, Britain, Australia, Canada and other countries unconditionally recognized a Palestinian state. They did so after the horrors committed by Hamas on October 7th — 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 October 7th. Not supported it — they celebrated. They danced on the rooftops, they threw candies. That's both in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria — the West Bank, as you call it.

You know what message the leaders who recognized a Palestinian state this week sent to the Palestinians? It's a very clear message. Murdering Jews pays off.

Well, I have a message to 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.

But, but, but, wait a minute, Mr. Prime Minister, they tell me. Wait a minute. We believe in a two-state solution, where the Jewish state of Israel will live side by side in peace with a Palestinian state.

There's only one problem with that. The Palestinians — they don't believe in this solution. They never have. They don't want a state next to Israel. They want a Palestinian state instead of Israel.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: The persistent Palestinian rejection of a Jewish state in any boundary is what has driven this conflict for over a century. It is still driving it. It's not the absence of a Palestinian state, it's the presence of a Jewish state.

Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after October 7th is like giving Al-Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after September 11th. This is sheer madness. It's insane, and we won't do it.

So here's another message for these Western leaders: Israel will not allow you to shove a terror state down our throats. We will not commit national suicide because you don't have the guts to face down a hostile media and antisemitic mobs demanding Israel's blood.

Last year, there was a vote in the Knesset, our parliament, whether or not to oppose the imposition of a Palestinian state. You want to guess what the results were? Out of the 120 members of our parliament, 99 voted against. And only 9 supported. That's over 90%. It's not a fringe group, it's not the prime minister who is extreme or is held hostage by extreme parties to his right. So my opposition to a Palestinian state is not simply my policy or my government's policy. It is the policy of the state and people of the State of Israel.

Israel's victories over the Iranian terror axis have opened up possibilities for peace that were unthinkable two years ago. Take Syria. For decades, the very idea of peace between Israel and Syria seemed unimaginable. No more. Today we have begun serious negotiations with the new Syrian government.

Peace between Israel and Lebanon is possible as well. I call on the Lebanese government to also begin direct negotiations with Israel. I commend it for its declared aim to disarm Hezbollah.

Victory over Hamas will make peace possible with nations throughout the Arab and Muslim world. Our victory would lead to a dramatic expansion of the historic Abraham Accords, which President Trump brokered between Arab leaders and myself five years ago.