NEW YORK: The Malaysian delegation was among groups that left the assembly hall before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his general debate speech at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Malay language portal Astro Awani reports.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan told Astro Awani that during the session, all countries supporting the Palestinian Resolution in accordance with decisions by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the UN Security Council (UNSC) took similar action.
"As we could see, when Netanyahu entered the hall to start his speech, everyone stood up and left. We, the Malaysian delegation, also left entirely.
"The countries that support the ICJ decisions or advisory opinions all exited the hall. It was empty.
"But, as usual, Netanyahu arrogantly and pompously belittled the role of the UN and its agencies, as if the UN had no role to play," he said.
Meanwhile, Indonesian News Agency (Antara) reported that Indonesian delegates had also walked out of the session, Bernama reported.
Earlier in the same session, the Turkiyish delegation and many others left the assembly hall before Netanyahu began his general debate speech as a form of protest.
The delegation, led by Turkiye's permanent representative to the UN, ambassador Ahmet Yildiz, was reported to have been among those who took similar action.
Prior to this, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Netanyahu's presence at the UNGA, describing it as 'shameful'.
