Did Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say that America deserved 9/11 during an address to the United Nations General Assembly? No, that's not true: Netanyahu was criticizing New York's Mayor Zohran Mamdani when he repeated the words said by political commentator Hassan Piker. In the full address Netanyahu said: "You count as friends people like Hassan Piker who said America deserved 9/11."
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) by the account @fx1jonny on X on Sept. 24, 2026. It read:
The demon himself: "America deserved 9/11" That's as close to a confession we'll ever get!
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @fx1jonny on X.)
The six-second clip shows the prime minister of Israel gesturing with an emphatic raised hand, saying the words:
America deserved 9/11. America deserved 9/11.
This six-second clip from Netanyahu's address is real, but has been taken out of context. The full address (archived here) was published by The Hill on YouTube on Sept. 24, 2026. The moment in question comes at 28 minutes and 5 seconds. The embedded video below is cued to begin slightly before that moment to provide context. Netanyahu said:
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." Now, it's no wonder. You praise criminals convicted of supporting Hamas. You count as friends people like Hassan Piker who said, "America deserved 911." America deserved 911. Some friends you have.
