Fact Check: Did Benjamin Netanyahu say 'America deserved 9/11' during his UN speech?

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Following his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, a clip is circulating on social media platforms claiming to show Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating that ‘America deserved 9/11.’ The clip has garnered traction, sparking massive criticism and speculation, with online users calling for a fact-check.

Claim: Benjamin Netanyahu said ‘America deserved 9/11’

According to the viral video rapidly spreading across social media platforms, Netanyahu, during his speech at the UNGA, was heard saying, “America deserved 9/11.”

The clip has collectively garnered millions of views as of this writing, with the alleged remark triggering a massive row against the Israeli leader, with many echoing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call to arrest Netanyahu for war crimes.

While the public outcry indicates many believe the claim is true, a few others remained skeptical and questioned the authenticity of the clip.

Fact Check: Benjamin Netanyahu was quoting Hasan Piker's remarks

Although Netanyahu did make the controversial remark, the longer version of the clip reveals that the claim was misleading, as he was quoting an alleged remark by commentator Hasan Piker, who made the same statement. 

Hence, Netanyahu’s remarks were a reference to Piker's alleged comments and do not reflect his own views on the September 11 attacks, as the video was trimmed and the statement taken out of context.

In the full video, Netanyahu was heard saying, “You count as friends people like Hasan Piker, who said ‘America deserved 9/11.’ Some friends you have.”

Slamming Mamdani, he went on to say, “Shame on you for distorting the facts. Shame on you for inverting victim and aggressor. Shame on you for spitting in the face of truth.”

Benjamin Netanyahu and Zohran Mamdani clash over Gaza

Netanyahu accused Mamdani of endangering Jewish New Yorkers with his criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

“Mr. Mamdani, since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York. They talk to me, they tell me ‘this isn’t the city we remember, it changed so quickly,’” Netanyahu said. 

In a statement, Mamdani repeated his criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, stating, “As he has done time and again, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians."

"Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity.”