Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, the Israeli leader pushed back in his harshest terms yet against a flurry of diplomatic moves by leading US allies that deepened Israel's international isolation over its conduct of a nearly two-year-old war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
"This week, the leaders of France, Britain, Australia, Canada and other countries unconditionally recognised a Palestinian state," he said.
"They did so after the horrors committed by Hamas on October 7 - horrors praised on that day by nearly 90 per cent of the Palestinian population."
Calling it a "mark of shame," Netanyahu said: "You know what message the leaders who recognise the Palestinian state this week sent to the Palestinians? It's a very clear message: murdering Jews pays off."
With more countries joining the list of those endorsing Palestinian independence, the Israeli government has made its strongest declaration in years that there will be no Palestinian state as it pushes on with its fight against Hamas following the militants' October 7, 2023 rampage in Israel.
Hamas-led fighters killed about 1200 people according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's military response has killed more than 65,000 people in the Gaza Strip, according to local health officials, and left much of the territory in ruins.
Scores of delegates exited the hall as Netanyahu took the stage while some attendees in the balcony gave him a standing ovation.
"Over time, many world leaders buckled. They buckled under the pressure of a biased media, radical Islamist constituencies and anti-Semitic mobs. There's a familiar saying, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Well, for many countries here, when the going got tough, you caved," Netanyahu said.
"Behind closed doors, many of the leaders who publicly condemn us privately thank us. They tell me how much they value Israel's superb intelligence services that have prevented, time and again, terrorist attacks in their capitals."
Several countries embraced a Palestinian state at the annual New York gathering, saying such action was needed to preserve the prospect for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and help bring the war to a close.
Hamas has offered to release all remaining hostages – only about 20 of whom are said to be alive out of a total of 48 - in exchange for Israel agreeing to end the war and withdrawing from the strip.
"Much of the world no longer remembers October 7. But we remember," Netanyahu said.
Speaking in Hebrew, the Israeli leader directed his remarks to the hostages still held by militants: "We've not forgotten you - not even for a second."
Near the start of his speech, Netanyahu said he had loudspeakers placed at the Israeli side of the Gaza Strip border to broadcast the address into the Palestinian enclave in hopes that hostages held there would hear his vow that his government will not rest until they are free.
The prime minister's office also claimed that the Israeli army had taken over mobile phones in the Gaza Strip to broadcast his message.
Associated Press reporters inside the enclave saw no immediate evidence of Netanyahu's speech being broadcast on phones there.
On Friday, Trump told reporters for the second straight day that a deal to end the war and bring the remaining hostages home was close - although he offered no explanation for his optimism about overcoming months of impasse in negotiations.
Netanyahu, who spoke by phone to Trump on Thursday and will visit the White House on Monday, is under mounting pressure from the hostages' families and, according to public opinion polls, a war-weary Israeli public.
Netanyahu has insisted that the fight must go on until Hamas is completely dismantled.
with AP
9°C