The walkout underscored the competing pressures facing Netanyahu, who is battling mounting criticism abroad over the Gaza war while campaigning for reelection at home ahead of an October 27 vote.

The divisions over Israel's conduct were on display as Netanyahu began speaking, with dozens of delegates walking out in protest. He called them "moral cowards," while supporters in the gallery chanted in Hebrew: "The people of Israel live."

Netanyahu used his address to berate New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for calling him a war criminal, Western European leaders for what he called succumbing to "antisemitic mobs," and to accuse both Qatar and Turkey of spreading lies about Israel.

"You tried to stop me from coming here. You tried. You tried to silence me. Well, you can't silence me. You can't silence the truth," Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, said of Mamdani.

Mamdani campaigned for office on a promise to have Netanyahu arrested for alleged war crimes should he visit the largest US city but later said he determined he lacked the legal authority to do so. This week, Mamdani described Netanyahu as "the architect of a horrific genocide against Palestinians."

Making his first visit to New York since Mamdani took office in January, Netanyahu said: "Here's a simple truth: Israel didn't commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide."

He accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas militants, something Mamdani has denied. 

"To all those spreading these lies about my country and about our brave soldiers, whether they sit in this hall or in the office of the antisemitic mayor of New York, I say this: Shame on you!" Netanyahu said.

In a statement, Mamdani said: "As he has done time and again, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians. Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Adding to tensions, dozens of protesters, some brandishing "stop the genocide" banners, gathered near the United Nations. Several demonstrators were detained, including Hollywood star actor Susan Sarandon.

One of Netanyahu's fiercest critics, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, was unable to attend the UN gathering after the Trump administration refused him a visa.

In a video message played ahead of Netanyahu's speech, Abbas said, "We reject these unlawful punitive measures, and we reject the accusations and justifications on which they were based."

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