The Palestinian mission at the United Nations circulated a formal letter to missions in New York urging a coordinated “walkout” during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the UN General Assembly on Friday at 4 p.m. Israel time.
The letter was obtained exclusively by Walla (of The Jerusalem Post Group). According to the letter, delegations were asked to bring “as many staff as possible” into the General Assembly hall and the visitors’ gallery by 8:30 a.m. local time, then exit the chamber together the moment the President of the General Assembly announces that Netanyahu is taking the podium.
The stated aim was to “send a clear message to Netanyahu and his government that no one is prepared to be complicit in genocide, war crimes, and the illegal occupation,” and to ensure the protest is captured on camera for a global audience.
The document described the action as “standing on the right side of history.”
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, sharply condemned the move. “After a week that included a flood of lies and incitement against Israel, the Palestinian representatives are planning another show at the UN and a timed departure of representatives from a number of countries at the start of the prime minister’s speech,” he said.
Israel’s voice will be heard clearly and loudly
“They approached those countries and asked them to fill their seats with junior representatives, just so it will look on camera as if many delegates are leaving the hall," he added
"They have already developed expertise in producing cheap and pathetic shows. It will not help them. Israel’s voice will be heard clearly and loudly at the UN. We will not be silent and we will not allow supporters of terror to hide the truth,” Danon affirmed.
The instruction to pack both the floor and the gallery before the speech appears designed to maximize the visual impact of a mass exit once Netanyahu takes the lectern.
If executed by multiple missions, the action would amount to a coordinated but non-disruptive protest that registers diplomatic dissent without halting proceedings.
Netanyahu’s address comes amid heightened tensions at the UN over Gaza and Palestinian statehood recognition efforts.
The planned walkout, if widely adopted, would turn the Israeli leader’s appearance into a high-visibility test of diplomatic theater around the General Assembly.