Netanyahu departs for UN ahead of Thursday speech

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes off for the United States, where he will address the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday and hold a series of meetings with world leaders.

During his GA speech, he will tell world leaders what he expects from them in the aftermath of the Iran deal and the threats to Israel’s borders emanating from Syria, he tells reporters as he makes his way onto his plane at Ben Gurion International Airport.

“I will also address the issue of peace with the Palestinians, and I will emphasize Israel’s desire to reach peace,” he says. During his speech, Netanyahu plans to demand that the Palestinians cease their “incitement” and “lies” about the Temple Mount. He said he would reiterate that Israel intends to maintain the status quo on the holy site.

Palestinian rioters who bring weapons to the Temple Mount and into the al-Aqsa Mosque desecrate their holy places and are those who violate the status quo there, he says.

“Whenever I speak at the UN, I [believe it is] a great merit and responsibility to tell the nations of the world the truth about Israel, about our country,” he says, after arriving on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport Tuesday after a delay of over an hour.

Netanyahu is scheduled to address the UN on Thursday at noon, when most other world leaders attending the conference will have already left New York. Later that day, he will meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. On Friday, he is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry in what will be the first meeting between the prime minister and Kerry since the Iran deal was clinched in July.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will also deliver what he calls a “bombshell” speech at the General Assembly on Wednesday at noon. Afterwards, he will attend a ceremony in which the Palestinian flag will be hoisted in front of the UN building near the East River.

— Raphael Ahren