Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a passionate speech Monday at the United Nations General Assembly to condemn the U.N. Human Rights Council, as well as Islamic terrorist groups and the nations that support them.
Netanyahu spoke against the prospect of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, compared ISIS to Hamas, and criticized the U.N. Human Rights Council itself for failing to condemn Hamas’s use of human shields.
“To say that Iran doesn’t practice terrorism is like saying that Derek Jeter never played shortstop for the Yankees,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also addressed the threat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, saying that “ISIS and Hamas are branches of the same poisonous tree.”
Netanyahu’s remarks largely centered on Hamas, the terrorist organization engaged in war with Israel.
“Israel was using its missiles to protect its children. Hamas was using its children to protect its missiles,” Netanyahu said, adding that the “U.N. Human Rights Council has become a terrorist rights council” for failing to act against Hamas’s use of human shields.
“It’s not just our interests” to stop human shields, he said. “It’s not just our values. It’s your interests, and your values.”
“Nearly half of the U.N. Human Rights Council resolutions have been directed against Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East.”
Netanyahu also offered more hopeful remarks, stating, “We can advance peace despite the difficulties we face.”