Netanyahu heads to UN amid international backlash and domestic political pressure

Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

Israelis are closely watching Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the U.N. General Assembly, not only because of the significance of his speech but also to monitor what unfolds outside the United Nations and inside its halls when he arrives.

Parts of the international community have increasingly become a stage for protests against Israel’s military campaigns in Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank and Syria. The backlash comes amid intense domestic debate in Israel over the country’s deteriorating international standing and growing hostility toward Israelis abroad.

Netanyahu’s trip to New York is expected to last only a few hours. People close to him have cited concerns that he could face an attack there, although it is unclear whether those concerns are based on intelligence information.

His security will be provided by the U.S. Secret Service. Details surrounding his visit have nevertheless come under criticism from Israel’s opposition, which has focused its campaign on what it describes as his failures, ahead of next month’s legislative elections.

Netanyahu, for his part, is expected to use his speech to present a different image of Israel. 

According to a senior official close to him, the prime minister will focus on Iran and its proxies and present new information about Iran’s nuclear efforts and attempts to rebuild capabilities that were damaged, as well as Tehran’s missile capabilities.

As Netanyahu prepares his speech and Israel’s opposition campaigns against him, both sides are seeking to secure the support of Israeli voters ahead of the elections.

Opinion polls, according to the report, indicate that Netanyahu’s popularity and support for his governing bloc continue to decline.

In seat projections cited by the report, his rival Gadi Eisenkot is ahead with 22 seats in the Knesset, compared with 18 for Netanyahu. At the same time, polls indicate that the parties making up the right-wing coalition aligned with Netanyahu would collectively secure no more than 51 seats, short of the 61-seat majority required to form a government.