When Benjamin Netanyahu stepped to the podium at the United Nations General Assembly this week, the optics spoke louder than his words. Rows of seats were empty; diplomats had walked out en masse. Outside, thousands of protesters packed Manhattan streets, chanting “Stop the genocide.” Families of hostages held a separate vigil near the UN gates.
Even his arrival was fraught. His state jet, the Wing of Zion, took a circuitous route to avoid French and Spanish airspace, detouring over friendlier skies in Greece and Italy. The reason was obvious: in November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Any ICC member state could theoretically seize them if they entered its jurisdiction. Netanyahu’s avoidance of EU skies reflected a chilling new reality: a sitting Israeli prime minister flying under fear of capture.
Inside the UN chamber, the hollowness continued. Al Jazeera’s senior analyst Marwan Bishara called the address a tired recycling of lies and gimmicks. “It all fell flat,” he said. “No one is taking him seriously anymore. These sound bites may work in the U.S. Congress, but not before an international audience that sees him as an indicted war criminal, whose country stands accused of genocide.”
Most strikingly, Netanyahu did something unusual: he compared Israel to the Nazis — only to deny the resemblance. Bishara called it “a shocker,” adding: “Why raise that? The Nazis too told Jews to leave before the camps. And genocide is not only the Holocaust. It is any attempt to destroy a people in whole or in part. That’s exactly what Israel is doing in Gaza.”
The green light for genocide
For Norman Finkelstein, this spectacle is only proof of Washington’s complicity. “It’s perfectly obvious what Israel’s strategy is,” he told the Useful Idiots podcast. “It’s gotten the green light from the White House to try to empty out Gaza. Finishing the job means annihilating the civilian population and pulverizing its infrastructure until people have no choice but to leave.”
That, he argues, is not war. It is genocide.
The blockade that set the stage
Finkelstein traces today’s carnage back to 2006, when Israel imposed a blockade after Hamas’s election victory. Bureaucrats literally calculated Gazans’ caloric intake, enforcing a “starvation-plus” diet. Toys, chocolate, even baby chicks were banned.
Solidarity flotillas tried to break the siege. The most famous, the Mavi Marmara in 2010, was raided in international waters; nine passengers were killed. International outrage briefly forced Israel to soften restrictions, but the full blockade soon resumed.
This week, another flotilla of 44 small boats set sail with baby formula and medical aid. They, too, faced Israeli threats and harassment. “Everything old is new again,” Finkelstein noted.
From laws of war to the logic of extermination
Politicians often call Israel’s campaign “disproportionate.” Finkelstein says this misses the point. “Disproportionate implies you’re aiming for military victory. But from day one, Israel’s leaders declared: ‘We’ll reduce Gaza to rubble. There are no civilians.’ That’s genocide, not war.”
Indeed, casualty ratios tell the story. Between March and August 2025, 12,000 Palestinians were killed, compared to just 50 Israeli soldiers. “Does 240-to-1 sound like a war? Or extermination?” Finkelstein asked, likening it to colonial massacres by European empires armed with Gatling guns.
The most democratic, and shameless, genocide
Polls consistently show around 95% of Israeli Jews support the campaign or want it intensified. That makes this “the most democratic genocide ever,” Finkelstein argues. And unlike the Nazis, who hid their crimes, Israelis post destruction videos online proudly. “There is no shame,” he said.
The trap of evacuation
Israel’s defenders often argue: if genocide is real, why not open Gaza’s borders and let people flee? Finkelstein warns this is the plan. “That’s exactly what Israel wants: expulsion. Egypt knows it — that’s why it’s massing troops on the border.”
Expulsion through genocidal means, he stresses, is still genocide. “The U.S. wanted Native land, not death per se. But the method was extermination. Same in Gaza.”
Confirmations from the UN and scholars
Finkelstein’s framing now has global resonance. On September 16, 2025, the UN Commission of Inquiry concluded Israel’s conduct constitutes genocide under the 1948 Convention. It cited “an intent to destroy the Palestinian population in whole or in part.”
In 2024, over 800 international law experts warned of genocide risk. The International Association of Genocide Scholars declared Israel’s campaign bore the “hallmarks of genocide.”
A chamber of empty chairs, and a street of rage
This week, the rebuke was global. Spain, Ireland, and others recognized Palestine. Canada and France demanded accountability. Delegates walked out during Netanyahu’s speech, leaving a hollow chamber behind him.
Outside, Manhattan erupted. Protesters filled the avenues. Families of hostages wept outside the UN. Police arrested demonstrators near Netanyahu’s hotel. The world’s rejection was visible both inside and outside the UN.
Iran and the “Israelization” of Western policy
Bishara also pointed to a broader danger: the way Israel has reshaped Western positions on Iran. Netanyahu used his UN address to push for “snapback sanctions,” demanding Tehran’s uranium stockpiles be destroyed.
Western powers complied. Germany, France, and Britain joined the U.S. in supporting sanctions — even after Israel’s illegal 12-day bombing campaign against Iran earlier this year. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz even said Israel was “doing Europe’s dirty work.”
For Bishara, this is reckless. “The West is pushing Iran into the arms of China and Russia,” he warned. “Snapback sanctions after complicity in illegal Israeli strikes will only accelerate global polarization.”
The U.S. factor
Despite Israel’s isolation, one fact endures: Washington’s protection. U.S. weapons continue to flow. American vetoes shield Israel at the Security Council. Financial and diplomatic cover remain constant.
That makes America complicit, Finkelstein insists. “The White House has effectively told Israel: finish the job.”
Turning point, or point of no return?
The UN’s empty chamber, the protests in New York, the circuitous flight of a wanted prime minister — all signal Israel’s growing isolation. Yet its campaign in Gaza continues, with U.S. support intact.
Marwan Bishara calls Netanyahu’s speech a tired act, meant for Washington not the world. Norman Finkelstein calls Gaza’s destruction genocide. Between the two, a consensus emerges: Israel may no longer command the stage, but with U.S. protection, it continues to burn it down.
“Gaza is being reduced to rubble, and its people are being destroyed,” Finkelstein said. “That’s not a tragedy of war. That’s genocide.”
📌 Gaza Crisis Timeline: From Blockade to Genocide Findings
2006–2007
- After Hamas wins Palestinian elections, Israel imposes a blockade on Gaza.
- Restrictions tightened in 2007, with officials calculating Gazans’ caloric intake to enforce a “starvation diet.”
2010 – The Mavi Marmara Raid
- Israeli commandos raid the Mavi Marmara flotilla in international waters, killing nine activists (a tenth later dies).
- International outrage briefly softens the blockade, but it is soon restored in full.
October 7, 2023
- Hamas-led attack on Israel results in 1,150 Israeli deaths, prompting Israel’s declaration of war. Israel is widely-believed to have employed its Hannibal Directive on the day, killing many hundreds of its own people with Hellfire missiles from Apache gunships and IDF tank shelling on Israeli houses in Israeli settlements, and later refuses to investigate how many people died as a consequence. Israel buries hundreds of melted vehicles, destroyed by its own weapons, from the site of the Nova Music festival – and refuses access requests by independent investigators.
- Israeli leaders vow to “reduce Gaza to rubble” and declare “there are no civilians.”
2024 – ICC Provisional Measures
- The International Court of Justice orders Israel to prevent acts of genocide and allow humanitarian aid.
- In November, the International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
March–August 2025
- After Israel ends a brief ceasefire, at least 12,000 Palestinians are killed in Gaza compared to about 50 Israeli soldiers — a casualty ratio of 240 to 1.
September 16, 2025
- The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry finds Israel’s conduct amounts to genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
September 25–26, 2025 – UN General Assembly
- Netanyahu’s plane avoids French and Spanish airspace amid ICC fears.
- Diplomats stage mass walkouts during his UN speech, leaving rows of empty seats.
- Thousands protest in New York; hostages’ families rally outside the UN.
- Spain, Ireland, and others recognize Palestine.