Diplomats walk out during Netanyahu's UN address as New York protests continue; Qatar denies charge

Diplomats from many countries walked out of the hall as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday.

Some representatives left even before the speech began, while others stood and applauded in support. Netanyahu called those who left "moral cowards" and sarcastically urged the rest to leave too. He called it hypocrisy for countries to publicly back Israel while walking out of the hall.

In his address, Netanyahu accused Qatar of running a campaign to influence public opinion against Israel. Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said the allegations were baseless and an attempt to divert attention from Israel's actions in Palestinian territory. According to him, the shift in global opinion, especially among youth, has come from people seeing the situation in Palestinian areas for themselves.

Meanwhile, protests were held in New York against Netanyahu's visit. Demonstrators demanded accountability for the Gaza war and called for a halt to US military assistance to Israel. Police arrested about a hundred people during the protests, including elected representatives.