Netanyahu to address U.N. General Assembly as Western states recognize Palestinian statehood; Trump vows no annexation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, standing before a room of world leaders as Western allies move to recognize Palestinian statehood. Over the past week, several long-standing U.S. partners have announced formal recognition of a Palestinian state, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Portugal and France, a shift Netanyahu has argued would be an enormous concession to Hamas. In New York, the audience will include heads of state, ministers and other senior officials gathered for the annual gathering.

In parallel, President Donald Trump used his own U.N. General Assembly appearance to argue against unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, telling the assembly that such a move would “reward” Hamas for its atrocities, including the Oct. 7 attacks. Trump said he would meet with Netanyahu in the coming days and stressed that he “will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.” His comments echoed those of French President Emmanuel Macron, who warned that any Israeli effort to annex parts of the West Bank would constitute a red line for the United States. Ahead of Netanyahu’s speech, his government unveiled a public diplomacy campaign in New York with billboards and trucks bearing the message: “Remember October 7” in Times Square and around the U.N. building.

Netanyahu’s appearances come as Israel faces mounting international criticism over its Gaza campaign and as the regional security dynamic grows increasingly fraught. A United Nations Commission of Inquiry earlier this month characterized Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, a charge Israel has rejected as distorted and false. Netanyahu’s office dismissed the report as a “ridiculous” and “blatant falsehood,” arguing that Israel is compelled to defend itself against terrorism and that the inquiry’s chairpersons are biased or even aligned with Hamas.

Within Israel, the political direction of the war has become a focal point on the international stage. Bezalel Smotrich, the country’s far-right finance minister, last week spoke in stark terms about annexation of the West Bank, declaring that “the days when Britain and other countries determined our future are over” and urging sovereignty over Judea and Samaria while calling for the Palestinian state idea to be removed from the agenda forever. Trump has signaled support for Netanyahu’s stance but added his own insistence that annexation not be allowed, remarks he repeated in a meeting with reporters at the White House. Macron’s red-line warning underscored a division between Washington and some European capitals over how to respond to security concerns and political aspirations in the Palestinian territories.

The war’s broader humanitarian toll continues to mount. A famine designation has been declared in one Gaza governorate and is expected to be confirmed in two more by the end of September, according to a U.N.-backed report released in August. The situation is further complicated by ongoing fighting and civilian harm. In late September, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported intensified strikes on Gaza City and other populated areas, with heavy casualties as air, land and sea bombardment persisted. OCHA noted that roughly 82% of Gaza’s territory is now under some form of military occupation or displacement orders, underscoring the extent of the humanitarian crisis even as diplomatic maneuvering continues.

The Israeli-Hamas conflict began after Hamas launched a mass attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Since then, more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, a figure the ministry itself says does not distinguish civilians from combatants and cannot be independently verified. The Israeli government and its supporters point to the ministry’s numbers as a one-side source of casualty data, while humanitarian groups and international bodies cite the difficulty of independent verification in a rapidly changing battlefield.

Amid the political and military back-and-forth, Netanyahu’s U.N. appearance will be closely watched for signals about Israel’s posture toward recognition moves, potential cease-fire discussions and how Israel intends to balance its security concerns with mounting international pressure. The public diplomacy thrust in New York, including the “Remember October 7” campaign, aims to frame the day’s events in a way that underscores Israeli fears of renewed international legitimacy for Palestinian statehood on terms Israel opposes, even as the war continues to pull at regional alliances and global opinion.