Dozens of diplomats walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approached the podium on September 25, 2026, leaving rows of seats empty in protest against military campaigns in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria. The coordinated demonstration during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly highlighted deep international divisions over the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
Delegates from nearly 70 nations either left the chamber simultaneously or skipped the proceedings entirely. Footage from the assembly floor showed numerous representatives departing as Netanyahu prepared to speak, while other delegations left single junior diplomats behind to monitor the address.
Nations Joining the Assembly Boycott
The boycott included representatives from a wide coalition of Arab, African, Asian, and Latin American nations. According to Anadolu Agency coverage of the event, countries whose delegates joined the walkout or stayed away included Turkey, Palestine, Tunisia, Syria, Algeria, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, Qatar, Lebanon, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Kuwait.
They were joined by delegations from Spain, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Nigeria, Ghana, Libya, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Oman, Niger, Madagascar, Botswana, The Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, and Cape Verde. The widespread protest emptied large sections of the General Assembly hall before Netanyahu delivered his remarks, during which he addressed remaining attendees by saying, “If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left this room, please do so now,” according to AFP reporting.
Diplomatic Divisions and International Legal Scrutiny
In contrast, representatives from the United States, Germany, Argentina, Hungary, Serbia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Greece remained in the chamber throughout the speech. Delegations from the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Belgium, and Norway—whose diplomatic ties with Israel have faced mounting strain over the Gaza crisis—kept representatives inside the hall alongside officials representing the European Union.
China, which has repeatedly criticized Israeli military actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, maintained a single diplomat in the room. Meanwhile, representatives from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, nations that normalized relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords, remained in their seats. Other nations attending included Australia, Austria, Canada, Portugal, Poland, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Iceland, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Kenya, and El Salvador.
The diplomatic demonstration unfolded against a backdrop of intensifying international legal pressure on Israeli leadership. In September 2025, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, a finding that the Israeli government has rejected. The International Criminal Court also issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on November 21, 2024, citing alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
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