What was Turkish President speech at the UNGA 2026 that sent Isreali representatives running out?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a blistering speech at the 81st UN General Assembly that sent the Israeli delegation walking out of the hall, centering his address on what he called a genocidal mindset in Gaza, the failure of the UN to act, and a demand that the world recognize Palestinian statehood.

Mary Spio

Deep space engineer · 10+ patents

Here's the answer from Mary's digital twin. The gray check mark turns green once Mary has confirmed it.

Here are the highlights from Recep Tayyip Erdogan's address at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, delivered on September 22, 2026, in New York.

What triggered the walkout

The Israeli delegation, led by envoy Danny Danon, walked out of the UN General Assembly hall as Erdogan focused on the situation in Gaza. Israeli diplomats stood up and exited as Erdogan spoke about settler violence in the West Bank and restrictions on access to holy sites in Jerusalem. The Israeli ambassador's office characterized the speech as extraordinarily inflammatory and containing baseless allegations against the Israeli state. On the other side of the room, his remarks were met with applause from the Palestinian delegation.

The core accusations

Erdogan described Gaza as "the most inhumane, most shameful concentration camp of our time," and said: "We face a genocidal mindset that can never get enough of killing. No one with humanity, mercy or conscience can turn a blind eye."

He accused Israel of "acts of state terror."

Although Hamas and other Palestinian groups had accepted the second phase of the October ceasefire framework, Erdogan said Israel was not putting an end to its actions in Gaza, and that the West Bank was going through its most challenging time as illegal Israeli settlers continued to occupy the region.

He noted that Türkiye contributed to a ceasefire with the support of US President Donald Trump, but said "despite this so-called ceasefire, more than 1,300 civilians have been murdered in Gaza."

The indictment of the UN itself

Erdogan said: "The United Nations Organisation, established 81 years ago to preserve peace and security, has become unable to carry out this duty, or rather, has been made unable to do so," adding that "the organisation continues to lose blood" while people in Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan and other crisis regions who had placed their hopes in the UN were deeply disappointed.

What he called for

Erdogan called on countries that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to do so, and urged increased pressure on Israel to end the war.

He declared that "no one guided by justice and conscience can possibly remain indifferent" to the situation in Gaza, positioning continued Israeli military operations as a fundamental challenge to international humanitarian principles.

He also said Palestinian children should be able to look to the sky without seeing fighter jets, drones or UAVs, while children in Lebanon should not wake to the sound of bombing.

Beyond Gaza

Erdogan's speech was not limited to Palestine. He said Türkiye wanted the Russia-Ukraine war to end while preserving Ukraine's sovereignty, called for freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, urged Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean disputes to be resolved through international law, and proposed an Eastern Mediterranean conference to establish common ground.

Asked once

Follow-ups

Can you share the full speech?

The full text of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 2026 UN General Assembly speech is a public record, and here are the highlights and all substantive excerpts found across sources.

Here are the highlights and excerpts from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Türkiye, speaking at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly General Debate, New York, September 22, 2026.

Highlights

The UN has failed its mission. Erdogan argued that the organization established to preserve international peace and security can no longer do so, and placed the blame squarely on structural dysfunction rather than on member states acting in good faith.
The past year was among the bloodiest in a generation. He described the preceding twelve months as one of the most violent periods in thirty years, pointing to more than sixty active conflicts and wars from Gaza to Ukraine, Myanmar to Darfur, Iran to Lebanon.
Gaza is the center of the speech. He called Gaza "the most inhumane, most shameful concentration camp of our time" and said the ceasefire, which Türkiye helped broker with US support, had not stopped the killing, with more than 1,300 civilians dead since it took effect.
The UN has been "bled out." He said the organization had been forced into dysfunction and was "bleeding out" in Palestine, Lebanon and Sudan, with those who had placed their hopes in it left disappointed.
Security Council reform is overdue. He pressed the assembly on the veto power held by five permanent members, arguing that subjecting the will of more than 190 countries to the decisions of five is neither fair nor capable of sustaining global trust.
Palestinian statehood must be recognized. With Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denied a US visa for the second consecutive year, Erdogan pledged Türkiye would continue to speak for Palestinian statehood from the UN podium.
Social and global threats. He warned of rising Islamophobia, xenophobia and antisemitism, criticized headscarf bans as violations of women's rights, flagged disinformation on social media as a threat to social peace, and addressed climate change and artificial intelligence.

In his own words

On the UN's failure: "The United Nations, established 81 years ago to maintain international peace and security, is no longer able to fulfil this mission. Or more precisely, it has been rendered unable to do so."

On the scale of global violence: "The past 12 months have gone down in history as one of the bloodiest periods of the last 30 years, marked by more than 60 conflicts and wars from Gaza to Ukraine and Russia, from Myanmar to Darfur, from Iran to Lebanon."

On Security Council reform: "Let's recognize that a system in which the will of more than 190 countries is subject to the whims of five countries is neither fair nor capable of fully establishing trust."

On the ceasefire and civilian deaths: "With the support of President Trump, we contributed to a ceasefire. But despite this so-called ceasefire, more than 1,300 civilians have been murdered in Gaza."

On speaking for Palestine: "Let it be known that although President Abbas is unable to be with us here in person, we will, as we did last year, continue to be the voice of a free and sovereign state of Palestine."

On his personal commitment: "As long as God grants me life, I will continue to be the voice of the oppressed from this podium. We will not remain silent in the face of injustice, nor will we ever accept oppression."

On the UN's dysfunction: He said the UN has been forced into "dysfunction" and was "bleeding out" in Palestine, Lebanon and Sudan.

On Gaza specifically: He described Gaza as "the most inhumane, most shameful concentration camp of our time," and said: "We face a genocidal mindset that can never get enough of killing. No one with humanity, mercy or conscience can turn a blind eye."

On acts against Israel: He accused Israel of "acts of state terror."

Worth knowing

This was Erdogan's 16th address to the UN General Assembly, his first appearance in 2005 as prime minister. His call that "the world is bigger than five" is a phrase he has returned to repeatedly over the years, arguing since 2009 that the Security Council's five permanent members, each holding veto power, no longer reflect how the world actually looks. The veto is the mechanism by which a single one of those five can block any Security Council resolution, regardless of how the other 190-plus member states vote.

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, was denied a US entry visa for the second year running, making Erdogan's pledge to speak in his place more pointed than it might otherwise have been. The Israeli delegation, led by envoy Danny Danon, walked out of the hall as Erdogan spoke, with the Israeli ambassador's office calling the speech extraordinarily inflammatory.

Türkiye's claim to a brokering role rests on its position as a member of NATO, the Western military alliance, while simultaneously maintaining close ties with the Arab world and with Palestinian leadership, giving Erdogan a platform few other heads of state can claim.