Brazilian representatives were among delegations that left the UN General Assembly chamber as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking, an action that exposed the gulf between Brasília’s position on Gaza and Israel’s account of the war. Both accounts describe a chamber disrupted by departures and jeers, with the session president calling repeatedly for order.¹

From the Brazilian government’s perspective, the walkout aligned with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s sustained condemnation of Israel’s military operations. Lula has described the campaign as genocide and warned that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are further undermining the prospect of a two-state solution. Brazil continues to support two states, while urging restraint and diplomacy in the broader regional conflict, including tensions involving Iran.²

Netanyahu presented a sharply different case. Addressing those who had left, he said: “If there are any other moral cowards who have not yet left this hall, please leave now.” He rejected the genocide allegation as “the biggest lie of the century,” argued that Hamas uses civilians as human shields, and said Israel would not abandon its security aims: “We will win, because we have no other choice.”¹

The contrast extends beyond Gaza. The Brazilian account emphasizes humanitarian concerns and the political consequences of the occupation, while Netanyahu’s address emphasized the threats Israel says it faces from Hamas and Iran. Brazil’s foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, did not attend Netanyahu’s speech; he was participating in an event supporting the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. The episode echoed a similar walkout during Netanyahu’s UN appearance the previous year, suggesting that diplomatic opposition to Israel’s Gaza policy remains entrenched even as Israel maintains that its operations are directed at Hamas.²