Knesset Speaker Ohana: 'If you want a Palestinian state, build it in London or Paris' - Keshet Neev, Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Keshet Neev, Jerusalem Post Staff

During his speech, Ohana also pulled out a tablet showing a video from Iran's parliament in June during which members shouted "Death to Israel, Death to America."

 

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana speaks at the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva, Switzerland, July 30, 2025.

(photo credit: Noam Moskowitz/Knesset Spokesperson’s Office)

 

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana denounced plans to recognize a Palestinian state during his speech at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva on Wednesday.

“If you want a Palestinian state, build it in London or Paris,” Ohana told the participants, referring to recent statements by both British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron on their plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September.

Representatives from Iran, Yemen, and the Palestinian Authority left the hall in protest during Ohana’s speech. The representatives were seen exiting the hall directly under the podium as Ohana spoke.

While speaking, the Knesset speaker showed the participants a video on his tablet of Iran’s parliament members shouting, “Death to Israel, death to America,” during an Iranian parliament meeting in June after a law was passed to sever ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

תיעוד: משלחות איראן, תימן והרשות הפלסטינית נטשו את האולם בכנס ראשי הפרלמנטים העולמי כשיו"ר הכנסת אוחנה החל לנאום@glick_sh pic.twitter.com/kmdU3HtNc4

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) July 30, 2025

“This is not footage of an underground terror cell. It is the official parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran – a full member of this forum – openly calling for the annihilation of two sovereign states,” Ohana explained.

Attendees at the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva, Switzerland, July 30, 2025. (credit: Noam Moskowitz/Knesset Spokesperson’s Office)

He also denounced Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who had earlier held up a photo from The New York Times of a starving child in Gaza during his speech at the conference.

“The Iranian speaker presented a photo published on the cover of The New York Times. The only problem is that their claim is fake,” Ohana explained.

Israel had shown earlier on Wednesday that the photographed child was suffering from cerebral palsy. NYT has since amended its article to include that the child had a pre-existing health condition.

“Even The New York Times admitted this today. But Ghalibaf will seize every blood libel the fake news media hands him,” he told the audience.

“Shame on you both,” he added, referring to Ghalibaf and the report.

Ohana also called for the hostages’ return.

“As we speak, 50 of our brothers and sisters, innocent people, are being held hostage by Hamas. They are starved, they are tortured, they are afraid, they are alone, in the dark tunnels of Gaza,” he said.

“I implore you to stand for truth over propaganda, conscience over convenience, virtue over vogue. Stand on the right side of history – our side,” he said.

The IPU is an international organization of parliaments. It includes 181 member parliaments, including several from the Middle East.

This was the sixth World Conference of Parliament Speakers, taking place between Tuesday and Thursday.

The conference has taken place every five years since 2000.

Keshet Neev, Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-862745

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter