Philippine diplomats joined walkout on Netanyahu at UN, DFA confirms
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines was among delegates who walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech on Thursday, September 24, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Clips of the session show dozens of delegates leaving their seats in protest and streaming out of the hall, just as Netanyahu stood at the podium to deliver his address.
Other delegates stayed seated, and some stood to applaud him amid repeated calls for order.
The available footage does not clearly show where the Philippine delegation was. With no official roll call, tallies compiled by news outlets and observers drew on video and photos of the hall, and some placed the Philippines among the delegations that stayed.
"The Philippines joined the walk out in global solidarity for peace in the Middle East and the call for all parties to desist from unilateral actions that erode the conditions of peace," DFA Spokesperson Analyn Ratonel told Philstar.com in a message.
The DFA spokesperson said such actions undermine the viability of a future Palestinian state.
"The Philippines is deeply concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and notes with alarm Israel's efforts to advance the E1 settlement plan, and the continued rise of settler violence in the West Bank," the DFA spokesperson said.
"These actions are detrimental to finding a just, lasting and comprehensive solution to the Middle East conflict," she added.
The Philippines "has always supported the two-state solution as the viable path to peace in the region," the DFA spokesperson said.
Before the speech by the Israeli leader, the Palestinian Mission to the UN had urged member states to fill the hall with staff and leave together once Netanyahu was introduced, according to reports.
The mission urged member states to show their objection to what it described as Israel's genocide, war crimes and illegal occupation.
Netanyahu, who visibly paused before he began his speech, reacted to the throngs of delegates leaving the hall by inviting "any other moral cowards who haven't yet left this hall" to go.
The Israeli leader's UN General Assembly speeches also drew walkouts in 2024 and 2025.
A week before Netanyahu's UN address, the DFA issued a similar statement protesting Israel's E1 settlement plan on September 17.
In that statement, the department said Israel's push to advance the E1 plan and the rise in settler violence "may contravene international law."
It also said Manila would continue to uphold the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.
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