Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver United Nations General Assembly address

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak on Friday before the United Nations General Assembly.

Netanyahu has dismissed a proposed 21-day ceasefire at the Israeli-Lebanon border.

The prime minister says Israel will continue to hit Hezbollah with all of its might.

Thursday, thousands of demonstrators protested the war and Netanyahu's visit, ending in dozens of arrests.

"The U.S. and Israel are together in this and the United States is using its impunity basically to let Netanyahu come here and speak at the U.N. The people of the U.S. are not OK with that. We don't accept that our government, that our tax dollars are being used to kill men, women and children in Palestine and now Lebanon," Layan Fuleihan, the People's Forum Education Director said while protesting.

More protests are expected Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to address UN General Assembly amid protests.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, pleading to world leaders to broker a peace deal.

Abbas strode to the podium to loud applause and a few unintelligible shouts. His first words were a sentence repeated three times: "We will not leave. We will not leave. We will not leave."

He accused Israel of destroying Gaza and making it unlivable.

Danny Danon, Israel's U.N. ambassador, responded to Abbas' speech within minutes with a critical assessment. "Abbas spoke for 26 minutes and did not say the word 'Hamas' once. Since the massacre of Oct. 7, Abbas has failed to condemn Hamas for their crimes against humanity," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

ALSO READ: President Biden says peace is still possible in the Mideast and Ukraine during UN address

Lindsay Tuchman has the latest in Midtown East.----------

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