VIDEO: Phyllis Bennis on Netanyahu’s UN Speech, the Gaza Genocide, and a Shifting Political Landscape
In an interview on the Jasim Al-Azzawi Show, Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, breaks down Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s September 2026 United Nations General Assembly speech, the mounting evidence of genocide in Gaza, and the growing political shift in the U.S. and Europe away from unconditional support for Israel.
On Netanyahu’s denial of the genocide at the UN, Phyllis was direct: “All the major international and Israeli human rights organizations, from Amnesty International to Human Rights Watch to B’Tselem to Yesh Din, have all said this is a genocide. Period. Full stop.”
She noted that the world has for the first time witnessed a genocide in real time: “There had never before been the technology for that. There had never been the access in the media to that.” And she argued that Israel’s own officials had provided the evidence of intent: “It was broadcast live by the Israeli Defense Minister. He said, ‘No food, no drinks, no medicine, no electricity. We’re going to make them suffer.’ Their target was not Hamas. It was the people of Gaza as a whole.”
On the political shift in the U.S., Phyllis pointed to a historic change in how candidates are approaching Israel: “AIPAC money has become toxic. That was never true before. It’s a huge shift and we’re seeing it across the country in places where it’s not sort of expected that that would be a popular position.”
Netanyahu was not the only leader to openly threaten mass destruction at the UNGA. On President Trump’s threat during his UN speech to potentially “annihilate” Iran, Phyllis was unequivocal: “There’s no way you could imagine the destruction of an entire country without nuclear weapons — a nuclear holocaust was what he was threatening. And yes, that is a violation of all kinds of international law.” She drew a parallel to Trump’s broader posture: “He views himself as immune from any accountability. Congress has not stopped him in any of the ways they have at their disposal.”
That doesn’t have to be the case, for the Trump administration or the Netanyahu administration. In closing, Phyllis emphasized the urgency of demanding accountability now, even after so much loss of life and destruction has already taken place. “Is it too late? It’s never too late when it’s so late. We have seen almost three years of genocide. We have seen more than 74,000 people killed in Gaza. It is too late. But it has to happen now — because it’s never enough to simply say it’s too late and throw up your hands,” Phyllis urged.
Watch the full interview below:
