Dozens leave UN hall as Netanyahu begins address

Dozens of delegates left the United Nations General Assembly hall as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address in New York on Thursday, September 24, while chants supporting Palestine were reported inside. The accounts describe departures but do not establish how many delegations actually walked out during the speech. The hall had been sparsely occupied earlier in the session and filled gradually before Netanyahu spoke, according to a contemporaneous account. As he took the podium, delegates exited and members of the Israeli delegation cheered. Netanyahu responded by urging any remaining delegates who objected to his presence to leave. The address took place at the 81st annual gathering at UN headquarters. A separate account, citing Israeli reports, said representatives of 77 countries were absent during the speech. That figure included delegations said to have left shortly before it began, as well as representatives who had not been seated from the outset. It therefore does not represent a verified count of delegations that departed during the address. The supplied accounts provide no independent attendance record or delegation-by-delegation tally.