Iceland’s foreign minister rebukes Netanyahu over ‘moral cowards’ remark at UN

Icelandic Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir used her address to the UN General Assembly to rebuke Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his description of diplomats who walked out of his speech as “moral cowards.”

“We have heard the words ‘moral cowards’ from this podium,” Gunnarsdóttir said. She said the term instead applied to leaders who refuse to negotiate a just and lasting peace, prevent humanitarian aid from reaching people in need or repeatedly disregard international law.

Her comments followed Netanyahu’s 24^th September address to the General Assembly, during which dozens of delegates left the chamber as he took the podium. Netanyahu responded by calling those who walked out “moral cowards.”

Turning to Gaza, Gunnarsdóttir said the suffering of Palestinian civilians should not become “background noise,” pointing to children being killed, families losing their homes and parents struggling to keep their children alive.

She criticized the repeated destruction and reconstruction of Gaza without addressing what she described as the underlying causes of the conflict.

The Icelandic foreign minister also addressed developments in the occupied West Bank, criticizing continued Israeli settlement expansion and violence by settlers against Palestinians.

“Palestinian civilians face settler violence, too often enabled by impunity, inflammatory rhetoric and permissive policies,” she said.

Gunnarsdóttir noted that Iceland had recently joined 11 other countries in addressing restrictions on trade involving goods from Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law.

She reiterated Iceland’s support for a two-state solution, saying its objective remained a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel, with both peoples able to live in security, dignity and peace.