PM reportedly tried to swap speech slot at UN to hit Israeli prime time
Netanyahu said to have asked to switch with Cyprus president, putting him ahead of PA leader, but UN officials rejected move
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to swap the slot of his UN General Assembly address with the president of Cyprus in order to speak during Israeli prime time and ahead of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Channel 10 news reported Monday.
Netanyahu is scheduled to speak next Thursday, September 27, at 9:30 p.m., in Israel. According to the report, his office had reached out to Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades who is slated to give his address at 6:00 p.m. — a time when Israeli news channels would likely cut away from broadcasts in order to carry an address live.
Such a trade would also have allowed Netanyahu to speak ahead of Abbas, who is supposed to address the General Assembly three spots before the Israeli leader. Anastasiades, however, is the 6th speaker — well ahead of the PA leader who is positioned at number 15.
Channel 10 reported that while the Cypriot leader was said to have agreed to the trade, UN organizers rejected the move. The order of speakers has presidents addressing the body first, followed by prime ministers and Netanyahu’s trade would have tampered with that arrangement.
However, in 2017 Netanyahu was permitted to speak among the world’s presidents, a full day before Abbas took the podium.
Netanyahu is slated to arrive in New York next Tuesday. Senior Israeli officials told Channel 10 that next Wednesday Netanyahu will meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the White House would confirm that meeting is scheduled.
The Times of Israel Community.