A Closer Look at Netanyahu’s Meetings on the Sidelines of the UN General Assembly
For yet another year following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, the atmosphere at the opening session of the UN General Assembly remained tense. No one was surprised by the mass walkout of foreign diplomats just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium to deliver his speech. After all, he himself had anticipated this development, as was evident when he began his speech by characterizing the stance of the countries leaving the hall at that moment as a sign of “hypocritical cowardice.’ This characterization was based on a claim frequently made in Israel by government officials, analysts, and journalists—and was reiterated once again by Netanyahu. “While some countries may publicly condemn Israel, behind the scenes, their leaders were quick to express their relief to us regarding the way Israel handled the war in the region,” was the central message of what the Israeli Prime Minister stated and implied.
We may never know the details that could substantiate such a serious claim. However, according to data republished in early June 2025 by The New York Times, contracts for the sale of Israeli weapons systems totaled $14.8 billion in 2024, a record amount for any previous year. The breakdown of the contracts is even more interesting. Fifty-four percent of all military exports went to European countries, 23 percent to countries in Asia and the Pacific, 12% to the United Arab Emirates and Morocco—three countries that have signed the Abraham Accords—and the remaining 9% of contracting parties were the U.S. and Canada. Logically, then, the possibility cannot be ruled out that some of the countries that walked out of the UN General Assembly hall may be among the group of countries that have procured Israeli. But even this claim cannot be substantiated with certainty.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
However, based on the schedule of one-on-one meetings held by Netanyahu with foreign leaders and representatives of foreign governments on the sidelines of this year’s UN General Assembly, this cannot be denied. These were meetings that, at least in terms of public relations, had been arranged by Israeli diplomats with the aim of demonstrating that “Israel is not entirely alone in the international community.” It is therefore worth examining which countries Israel continues to “engage with” publicly during the current situation, which is anything but easy for the country’s standing in the world.
Latin America in the Spotlight
The solidarity expressed toward Israel by a group of Latin American countries is palpable. The current governments of Argentina, Paraguay, Panama, Bolivia, and Colombia have chosen to invest significant political capital in drastically improving their relations with both Donald Trump’s United States and Israel. It is unclear whether the choice of Israel is a “side effect” of strengthening their ties with Washington.
What is certain, however, is that, in general, relations with Israel are a thorny issue on their domestic political scene. It may sound like an exaggeration, but in most Latin American countries, whenever a government that is not particularly friendly toward Washington comes to power, diplomatic relations with Israel are severed. Conversely, whenever a pro-American “coup” occurs, relations with Israel are immediately restored and strengthened. The second scenario happens to be the case now, in exchange for substantial Israeli development aid to these specific Latin American countries. These are bilateral relations that had already developed by the mid-1950s and continued throughout the 1960s, during which the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs established a special agency to provide development aid to developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The diplomatic return that Israel expected at the time —and continues to expect today—is a “cushion” of positive votes and opinions in collective decision-making processes, not only within the framework of the UN but also more broadly.
A Distant Europe—and Its Exceptions
It is a fact that from the start of ground operations in Gaza until today, Israel’s relations with European countries have been put to the test. The culmination of this is the Netanyahu government’s decision to close the British consulate in East Jerusalem —a move that has not occurred since the consulate first opened its doors way back in 1839. The economic sanctions that Britain, France, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Ireland, Finland, Portugal, Iceland, and Poland may not yet have been fully felt by the Israeli economy as a whole—but the diplomatic impact is significant.
In contrast, however, to what is happening in Israel-Europe relations, Netanyahu met with the leaders of Slovenia and Greece. The meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was considered expected, given the further deepening of bilateral relations in recent times. The signing of the agreement on the “Achilles Shield” defense system speaks for itself.
The case of Slovenia, however, is of particular interest. The current new government in Ljubljana has decided to make a 180-degree turn from its recent, highly critical rhetoric toward Israel. Military diplomacy takes center stage here as well, demonstrating that Realpolitik on the Old Continent, as long as the war in Ukraine continues, has much to say. The sale of Israeli weapons systems, modeled after the “Achilles Shield,” is proving particularly useful in “saving” Israel’s bilateral political relations with European capitals.
The list of European countries that are on the same page in this critical area is long. Finland, Poland, Romania, Latvia, Serbia, North Macedonia, and, of course, Germany have become key business partners with the Israeli defense industries —regardless of their public criticism of how the Israeli side is handling the war and the Palestinian issue in general.
Faraway Papua New Guinea—and its embassy
Netanyahu’s meeting with the Prime Minister of distant Papua New Guinea, James Marape, should come as no surprise. According to some, it may even have been overdue, given that on September 5, 2023, this distant Southeast Asian country opened its embassy in Jerusalem. This was yet another meeting aimed at demonstrating, for public relations purposes, that Israel “is not isolated.” The primary audience for this meeting is the Israeli public, in light, of course, of the upcoming parliamentary elections on October 27.
The “last-minute” meeting with the President of Ethiopia
The last country added to the list of Netanyahu’s official meetings in New York was Ethiopia. This “last-minute” addition was deemed absolutely necessary, particularly by the Ethiopian side. Just one day before Netanyahu’s scheduled speech to the General Assembly, the ceasefire agreement between the government in Addis Ababa and the separatist rebel groups in the country’s northern provinces collapsed. Netanyahu’s meeting with Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie signals a further strengthening of ties with the Israeli military-industrial complex.
This development—if and when the situation in Ethiopia escalates—actually signals not only the opening of a new theater of war in the broader region—and indeed, very close to Yemen’s Bab el-Mandab Strait—but also a further strengthening of Israeli-Ethiopian relations, with Somaliland as the backdrop.
It is worth noting that Somaliland has not been receiving financial support for decades solely from the United Arab Emirates. It also receives support from Ethiopia. It is telling that Somaliland maintains air links primarily with Ethiopian airports, even though, at least for the time being, this particular administrative entity is recognized diplomatically exclusively by Israel. Thus, Netanyahu’s recent meeting with the President of Ethiopia and the interesting topics they reportedly discussed may well be in the news in the very near future.
And in the background—Somaliland is also present
It would be an oversight not to mention an interesting coincidence. While the UN General Assembly was in session, the “President” of Somaliland, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, whose meetings are also of great interest.
Specifically, as widely expected, he held an official meeting with the head of Israel’s Permanent Mission to the UN, Danny Danon, as Israel is the only country that recognizes its independence. On September 24, following Israeli mediation, Abdullahi delivered a speech at the American think tank Council on Foreign Relations, emphasizing the importance of his country’s diplomatic advancement within the international community. At the same time, he met with the local Somali community in New York, while reports on Somaliland’s news websites are particularly interesting, particularly regarding Abdullahi’s efforts to counter behind-the-scenes efforts—primarily by Turkey, and secondarily by Egypt— “two countries that are working hard to prevent Somaliland from being recognized as an independent state,” as is particularly emphasized in the relevant opinion pieces. Food for thought…
