Netanyahu says all Israelis reject Palestinian state, denounces Gaza genocide as 'blood libel'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a combative speech to a nearly empty UN General Assembly hall on Friday, where he portrayed himself as the standard-bearer of mainstream Israel in rejecting the creation of a Palestinian state and denouncing Israel's genocide in Gaza as “a joke”.

Netanyahu criticised countries that recognised a Palestinian state at the UN this week, and said his position is unfairly portrayed in the western media. 

"It’s not the prime minister who himself is extreme or… held hostage by extreme parties to his right, it’s over 90 percent of Israelis," Netanyahu said. 

“My opposition to a Palestinian state…is the policy of the state of Israel,” he said.

As Netanyahu’s speech began, dozens of world leaders and diplomats walked out of the assembly hall in protest, even as US diplomats cheered him.

Read more: Netanyahu says all Israelis reject Palestinian state, denounces Gaza genocide as 'blood libel'