BD walks out during Netanyahu’s UNGA speech

Bangladesh was among the countries whose delegates walked out of the United Nations General Assembly Hall as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address on Thursday, in a mass protest that left large sections of the chamber empty.

Reports and footage from the UN headquarters identified Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Algeria, Iran, Malaysia, Montenegro and Kyrgyzstan among the delegations that left or had empty seats during Netanyahu's speech. Jordan, Libya, the Marshall Islands and Mauritius were also reported to have empty seats, although some of these delegations left one representative behind.

An Anadolu review said representatives from nearly 70 countries either walked out or left their seats vacant as Netanyahu approached the podium. Its list included Bangladesh along with Türkiye, Palestine, Tunisia, Syria, Algeria, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, Qatar, Lebanon, Malaysia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Spain, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Nigeria, Ghana, Libya, Afghanistan, Oman, Niger, Madagascar, Botswana, the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda and Cabo Verde.

There was no single confirmed list of every country whose delegates left the hall, with some accounts relying on photographs showing empty national seats.