3 minute read
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his speech at the 2026 United Nations General Assembly, accused several countries of spending billions to spread what he described as lies about Israel, singling out Qatar and Türkiye in particular.
Netanyahu also accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of denying the Armenian Genocide, among other allegations against the Turkish leader.
“Several foreign countries have spent untold billions to spread lies about my country,” the Israeli PM said, according to the official transcript published by his office.
“The first to do so was Qatar. Decades ago, it started massively funding American universities and toxic media outlets like al-Jazeera. They did the same in Europe, by the way. Their goal was clear. Brainwash young minds to hate Israel, hate America and hate the West. This is the same Qatar that hosts the Hamas butchers of October 7th. The latest country to become a super-spreader of antisemitic lies is Türkiye. Erdogan is a tyrant who also hosts the Hamas terror chiefs. He has murdered thousands of Kurdish civilians. He denies the Armenian Genocide. He jails journalists and opposition leaders. In fact, I think he holds the world record on this, and that's a tough call. But I think he's number one. He illegally occupies Northern Cyprus, an EU member, and he regularly transgresses against Greece, a NATO member. Now he wants to take over Syria. That’s not surprising, because he calls for Israel’s destruction almost every single day. He says he's going to be the ruler of Jerusalem. No, Sir. You won't. This is our country, our city, our eternal capital. Tyrants of the world over seek to threaten us, they seek to undermine our resolve with their campaign of lies. But ultimately, as on the military battlefield, the Jewish people will prevail. It will take time. It will take time to vanquish the lies. It will take time for the world to acknowledge what is so plain to see. That Hamas used Palestinian civilians as human shields. That it used hospitals, schools and mosques as terrorist command posts. That it stole much of the food we let into Gaza,” he said.
The Israeli government had unanimously approved a proposal in late June to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. Following that step, the issue was to be submitted to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, for approval. However, according to the JNS news outlet, the Knesset has suspended the vote on the issue, postponing it until after the elections scheduled for October 27.