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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Basking in New Ties to Arab States, Netanyahu Says More Are Coming | Basking in New Ties to Arab States, Netanyahu Says More Are Coming |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel predicted on Tuesday that more Arab and Muslim nations would “soon, very soon” establish diplomatic relations with his country, following the agreements signed this month with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel predicted on Tuesday that more Arab and Muslim nations would “soon, very soon” establish diplomatic relations with his country, following the agreements signed this month with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. |
| Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Netanyahu also accused the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah of manufacturing and storing missiles near Beirut’s airport, which he said risked replicating the devastating Beirut port explosion in August that killed hundreds and wrecked a swath of the Lebanese capital. | Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Netanyahu also accused the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah of manufacturing and storing missiles near Beirut’s airport, which he said risked replicating the devastating Beirut port explosion in August that killed hundreds and wrecked a swath of the Lebanese capital. |
| There has been no indication that the port disaster, caused by an abandoned stockpile of ammonium nitrate, involved any weapons. | There has been no indication that the port disaster, caused by an abandoned stockpile of ammonium nitrate, involved any weapons. |
| The Israeli leader delivered his speech via prerecorded video because the General Assembly has been held virtually this year, but he still employed the theatrical devices he has used in previous speeches before the world body. Pointing to an annotated map of Beirut, he highlighted what he described as the weapons hazards posed by Hezbollah and its main backer, Iran — not just to Israel, but to the Lebanese. | The Israeli leader delivered his speech via prerecorded video because the General Assembly has been held virtually this year, but he still employed the theatrical devices he has used in previous speeches before the world body. Pointing to an annotated map of Beirut, he highlighted what he described as the weapons hazards posed by Hezbollah and its main backer, Iran — not just to Israel, but to the Lebanese. |
| “I say to the people of Lebanon, Israel means you no harm,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “But Iran does. Iran and Hezbollah have deliberately put you and your families in grave danger.” | “I say to the people of Lebanon, Israel means you no harm,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “But Iran does. Iran and Hezbollah have deliberately put you and your families in grave danger.” |
| Mr. Netanyahu’s map purported to show coordinates of what he described as Hezbollah’s “missile explosive depot” in a congested neighborhood near the airport, tucked between civilian housing and a gas station. | Mr. Netanyahu’s map purported to show coordinates of what he described as Hezbollah’s “missile explosive depot” in a congested neighborhood near the airport, tucked between civilian housing and a gas station. |
| Israel has long contended that Hezbollah has amassed caches of rockets and other weapons in Lebanon and, with Iran’s assistance, is attempting to produce precision-guided missiles there. Last August, an Israeli drone struck a building near Beirut that Israeli officials said contained machinery for making those missiles. | |
| In a televised speech later Tuesday, Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, accused Mr. Netanyahu of lying about missile storage facilities in Lebanon “to incite the Lebanese people against Hezbollah.” | In a televised speech later Tuesday, Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, accused Mr. Netanyahu of lying about missile storage facilities in Lebanon “to incite the Lebanese people against Hezbollah.” |
| In an attempt to disprove Mr. Netanyahu, Hezbollah promptly organized a media tour in one of the areas said to house the group’s missiles. Local television stations aired a clip from what appeared to be an industrial hangar, where young men chanted in support of Hezbollah. In Iran, too, state television broadcast similar footage, describing the site as storage for steel and construction material and denouncing what it called Mr. Netanyahu’s “big lie.” | In an attempt to disprove Mr. Netanyahu, Hezbollah promptly organized a media tour in one of the areas said to house the group’s missiles. Local television stations aired a clip from what appeared to be an industrial hangar, where young men chanted in support of Hezbollah. In Iran, too, state television broadcast similar footage, describing the site as storage for steel and construction material and denouncing what it called Mr. Netanyahu’s “big lie.” |
| The Israelis have invaded Lebanon multiple times, most recently in 2006, when Israel’s military and Hezbollah fought a devastating, monthlong war. While both sides have sought to avoid another conflict, the Israelis increasingly regard Hezbollah’s arsenal as one of the most potent threats to Israel’s security. | The Israelis have invaded Lebanon multiple times, most recently in 2006, when Israel’s military and Hezbollah fought a devastating, monthlong war. While both sides have sought to avoid another conflict, the Israelis increasingly regard Hezbollah’s arsenal as one of the most potent threats to Israel’s security. |
| Amos Yadlin, a retired head of Israeli military intelligence who runs the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said the main parts of Hezbollah’s stockpile include 140,000 rockets, thousands of missiles including a few hundred precision-guided missiles, armed drones and Russian and Iranian air defense systems. | Amos Yadlin, a retired head of Israeli military intelligence who runs the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said the main parts of Hezbollah’s stockpile include 140,000 rockets, thousands of missiles including a few hundred precision-guided missiles, armed drones and Russian and Iranian air defense systems. |
| In his speech, Mr. Netanyahu barely mentioned the coronavirus pandemic, which has severely affected Israel and led to sharp criticism of how he has managed it. Instead, Mr. Netanyahu focused on what he described as optimistic developments in the Middle East, a “region not exactly renowned for producing good news.” | In his speech, Mr. Netanyahu barely mentioned the coronavirus pandemic, which has severely affected Israel and led to sharp criticism of how he has managed it. Instead, Mr. Netanyahu focused on what he described as optimistic developments in the Middle East, a “region not exactly renowned for producing good news.” |
| He praised President Trump for having broken with what the Israeli leader described as the “failed strategies of the past” in seeking a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mr. Netanyahu linked Mr. Trump’s involvement directly to the decisions by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to establish diplomatic relations with Israel — the first Arab countries to do so in more than 25 years. | He praised President Trump for having broken with what the Israeli leader described as the “failed strategies of the past” in seeking a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mr. Netanyahu linked Mr. Trump’s involvement directly to the decisions by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to establish diplomatic relations with Israel — the first Arab countries to do so in more than 25 years. |
| Those decisions outraged the Palestinian leadership, who saw them as a betrayal of Arab solidarity in pressuring the Israelis over the lack of meaningful negotiations for a Palestinian state in Israeli-occupied lands. | Those decisions outraged the Palestinian leadership, who saw them as a betrayal of Arab solidarity in pressuring the Israelis over the lack of meaningful negotiations for a Palestinian state in Israeli-occupied lands. |
| “These new agreements will bring our peoples the blessings of peace and the enormous benefits that come with more trade, more investment, more commerce, transportation, tourism, increased cooperation in so many other areas,” Mr. Netanyahu said. | “These new agreements will bring our peoples the blessings of peace and the enormous benefits that come with more trade, more investment, more commerce, transportation, tourism, increased cooperation in so many other areas,” Mr. Netanyahu said. |
| “I also have no doubt,” he said, “that more Arab and Muslim countries will be joining the circle of peace, soon, very soon.” | “I also have no doubt,” he said, “that more Arab and Muslim countries will be joining the circle of peace, soon, very soon.” |
| Such a development, Mr. Netanyahu said, would make “peace between Israelis and Palestinians more likely.” | Such a development, Mr. Netanyahu said, would make “peace between Israelis and Palestinians more likely.” |
| In his own address to the General Assembly last week, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, asserted that “the only path" out of the conflict was in his previously stated demands for a two-state solution. But in an apparent acknowledgment that the ground had shifted in Israel’s favor, Mr. Abbas also called on the secretary general of the United Nations, António Guterres, to convene an international conference on the conflict in early 2021. | In his own address to the General Assembly last week, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, asserted that “the only path" out of the conflict was in his previously stated demands for a two-state solution. But in an apparent acknowledgment that the ground had shifted in Israel’s favor, Mr. Abbas also called on the secretary general of the United Nations, António Guterres, to convene an international conference on the conflict in early 2021. |
| There has been speculation that Sudan may establish diplomatic relations with Israel. President Trump has said that Saudi Arabia, which has enormous influence over the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and was reported to have assented to their decisions, might follow suit. But Saudi Arabia’s monarch, King Salman, gave no hint of such a step in his own speech to the General Assembly last week. | There has been speculation that Sudan may establish diplomatic relations with Israel. President Trump has said that Saudi Arabia, which has enormous influence over the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and was reported to have assented to their decisions, might follow suit. But Saudi Arabia’s monarch, King Salman, gave no hint of such a step in his own speech to the General Assembly last week. |
| Reporting was contributed by Ben Hubbard, Adam Rasgon and Farnaz Fassihi. | Reporting was contributed by Ben Hubbard, Adam Rasgon and Farnaz Fassihi. |