Netanyahu Set to Challenge Allies and Rivals at U.N. as Abbas Is Barred From Attendance

Unreleased U.S. Draft Condemned Britain, France and Canada Over Settlement Import Restrictions

In early September, U.S. officials in Jerusalem and Washington prepared a draft statement attributed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticizing proposed restrictions on imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The Sept. 8 draft, which had not previously been reported, would have characterized the measures by Britain, France and Canada as hostile actions against Israel that contributed to antisemitism. Two people familiar with the matter said the initiative was driven by David Milstein, an influential aide to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

“These tactics unacceptably draw from the playbook of the antisemitic boycotts, divestments and sanctions movement,” the draft said in language reviewed by Reuters.

The statement was never issued. Three people familiar with the matter said it lacked support from the White House and senior State Department leadership. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

Hundreds of Trucks Back Up at Iran-Turkey Crossing as U.S. Blockade Disrupts Trade

Hundreds of trucks queued along the road at the Gurbulak crossing on the Iran-Turkey border. The busy passage has become a vital economic lifeline for Tehran as a U.S. Navy blockade shuts down Iran’s ports.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged officials to speed up overland trade. The blockade prevents most imports and cuts off the oil and gas revenue that sustains much of Iran’s economy.

“I’ve been driving through this border gate for 15 years, and I’ve never had to wait as long as now,” said Muhammed Rıza Shiri, 55, who had waited four days to carry a load of rubber into Iran. “We had to queue behind a seven-kilometer line. Before the war, the longest we waited was three days; now the wait can stretch beyond five.”

Iran says the United States is trying to weaken the country. Tehran wants the blockade lifted before allowing commercial shipping to resume through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trucks queue on the road leading to the Gurbulak border crossing in Agri province, eastern Turkey, on September 22, 2026. (Photo: Serra Yedikardes, AP)

Netanyahu Expected to Target Rivals and Former Partners at U.N.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing a difficult reelection campaign at home, is scheduled to address the U.N. on Thursday and is expected to criticize both adversaries and allies that have opposed him in recent months.

Before his appearance at the U.N. General Assembly, Netanyahu said he would “tell the truth about you” in remarks aimed at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Netanyahu accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas and making unsupported claims that the mayor was inciting violence against Jewish New Yorkers.

Mamdani has pledged to enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant if Netanyahu visits New York for the assembly. The Hague-based court said in 2024 that it had reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu bore responsibility for alleged war crimes committed during Israel’s Gaza campaign following Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.

Mamdani, a longtime advocate for Palestinian rights who has accused Israel of war crimes, rejected Netanyahu’s video remarks Tuesday, saying, “We all know that what the prime minister has said in that video is not true.”

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, one of Netanyahu’s harshest critics, will not attend after Washington denied him a visa.

Longstanding Israeli partners Britain and France could also draw Netanyahu’s criticism. Britain introduced limited sanctions on exports from the occupied West Bank, and France followed suit. French President Emmanuel Macron had also angered Israel by saying Hamas was not active in the West Bank, where its traditional stronghold is Gaza.

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