MASS WALKOUT DURING

NETANYAHU’S UN ADDRESS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a mass diplomatic protest at the United Nations on September 24, 2026, when dozens of delegations walked out or left their seats vacant as he began his address to the General Assembly. According to a later count, seats representing 77 countries were empty during the speech.

The protest came amid widespread international criticism of Israel's war in Gaza and its military actions elsewhere in the Middle East. Netanyahu responded to the departing diplomats by calling them “moral cowards” and telling others who opposed Israel's actions that they could leave as well. He went on to defend Israel's military campaigns and reject accusations of genocide in Gaza.

The 77 countries whose seats were reported vacant were:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Guyana, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, North Korea, North Macedonia, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Qatar, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Tonga, Tunisia, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Yemen.

Not all 77 countries physically walked out. Some delegations had already left their seats vacant before Netanyahu began speaking, while others joined the coordinated departure. Egypt and Jordan, for example, reportedly did not participate in the staged walkout, but their seats were nevertheless empty during the speech. Pakistan's delegation walked out but reportedly continued listening from the sidelines. The figure of 77 therefore represents countries with vacant seats during Netanyahu's address, not 77 confirmed participants in the walkout.

A substantial number of countries remained represented during Netanyahu's address. These included Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, Czechia, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union delegation also remained. China reportedly left only one diplomat in the chamber.

The walkout and empty seats illustrated the deep international divisions surrounding Israel's conduct in Gaza. Some governments chose the highly visible act of leaving or staying away, while others—including several governments that have sharply criticized Israel—remained to hear Netanyahu's address.

Official UN General Debate page for Netanyahu's 2026 address

Israeli leader at UN: ‘We’re going to win. We have no other choice’

Watch: Protests and walkouts as Netanyahu addresses UN (BBC, 9-24-26)

Netanyahu’s UN belligerence wins cheers at home as world walks out (Al Jazeera, 9-25-26)

Netanyahu tries to claim Israel’s war in Gaza is ‘opposite of genocide’ in ranting UN speech (Independent, 9-25-26)