A striking display of international rejection unfolded at the United Nations General Assembly as scores of delegates walked out of the chamber in protest shortly before Benjamin Netanyahu began his address. The mass walkout was a powerful and unmistakable act of protest. The decision by numerous delegates to leave the hall rather than remain for Netanyahu’s speech conveyed the depth of international anger over the devastating human toll of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the wider regional conflict. For Netanyahu to encounter such a dramatic display of rejection on the world’s premier diplomatic stage was a powerful reflection of the condemnation and outrage generated by the conduct of his government. The message was difficult to miss: the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, together with mounting allegations of grave violations of international law, cannot simply be ignored, dismissed, or swept aside.

The mass walkout at the ongoing 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly was, in my view, a striking expression of outrage against the scale of suffering inflicted upon Gaza’s........

© Pakistan Observer