Türkiye's delegation and the delegations of many other countries walked out in protest as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who's accused of carrying out genocide in Gaza, addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Friday.
Netanyahu entered the hall and approached the podium to address the 79th session of the assembly. He held a map showing the West Bank, internationally recognized as Palestinian territory, as "Israeli" land.
Led by Türkiye's permanent representative to the U.N., Ambassador Ahmet Yıldız, the delegation left the hall before Netanyahu began his address.
Many other delegations joined the protest by Türkiye's representatives and also walked out of the hall.
Criticism has arisen over allowing the U.N. address by Netanyahu, for whom International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking an arrest warrant for alleged "war crimes."
Earlier this week, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned the U.N. for allowing a "criminal" like Netanyahu to address the global body's general assembly.
Türkiye strongly supports a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Israel launched its genocidal campaign in Gaza, vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7 incursion, during which the group killed around 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 41,500 Palestinians and wounded over 96,000 others, according to the latest figures released Thursday by the Health Ministry with more than half the dead reported to be women and children, including about 1,300 children under the age of 2.
