Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance before an increasingly divided Congress will likely be controversial and spark massive protests by lawmakers inside the Capitol and Palestinian supporters outside.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. | Photo credit: AP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint meeting of Congress on July 24, setting the stage for his speech at this crucial moment in the Israel-Hamas war.
Congressional leaders confirmed the date for the address late on June 6 after formally inviting Mr Netanyahu to speak before lawmakers last week. It is the latest show of wartime support for the longtime ally despite growing political differences over Israel’s military assault on Hamas in Gaza.
“The existential challenges we face, including the growing partnership between Iran, Russia, and China, threaten the security, peace, and prosperity of our countries and free people around the world,” said the letter from House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “To advance our enduring relationship and highlight America’s solidarity with Israel, we invite you to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending democracy, combating terrorism, and building a just and lasting peace in the region.”
Mr. Netanyahu’s appearance before an increasingly divided Congress will surely be controversial and spark protests by lawmakers inside the Capitol and Palestinian supporters outside. And it will also starkly demonstrate growing election-year divisions among Democrats over the prime minister’s prosecution of the months-long war against Hamas.
Mr Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the US — who issued a scathing rebuke of Mr Netanyahu in March — said in a separate statement on the night of June 6 that he had “clear and profound disagreements” with the Israeli leader but joined him in his request to speak “because the US relationship with Israel is strong and transcends one individual or prime minister.”
Other Democratic lawmakers who have been more critical of Mr Netanyahu’s tactics are also expected to skip the address. Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, said: “Mr Netanyahu is a war criminal. I certainly will not be attending.”
Mr Netanyahu’s visit to the Capitol comes as relations between President Joe Biden and the Jewish state’s leader have deteriorated in recent months. Mr Biden has privately and publicly criticised Mr Netanyahu’s handling of the war and criticised the Israeli government for not delivering more humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Late last week, Mr Biden announced a proposed deal to end the fighting in Gaza, increasing pressure on Mr Netanyahu to accept the deal. Many Israelis are urging him to accept the terms of the deal, but his far-right allies have threatened to leave his coalition government if he does not.
That could leave Netanyahu facing new elections, investigations into security failures that led to the war and the possibility of being tried on long-standing corruption charges if he loses the prime ministership.
The first phase of the agreement described by Mr. Biden would last six weeks and include a “complete and total ceasefire,” the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of many hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The second phase would involve the release of all remaining hostages, including male soldiers, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The third phase would mark the beginning of a large-scale reconstruction of Gaza, which has taken decades to recover from the devastation of war.
Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly said a permanent ceasefire in Gaza is “impossible” unless long-term conditions to end the war are met, appearing to undermine what Mr Biden has described as an Israeli proposal.
Several Democratic lawmakers who have supported Israel since the start of the war have said their attendance at Mr. Netanyahu’s address would depend on his decision to accept the existing peace deal.
Mr Johnson was the first to suggest inviting the Israeli leader, saying it would be “a great honour for me” to invite him. In a June 6 press release, Mr Johnson said Mr Netanyahu also responded to the invitation.
“I am deeply humbled by the privilege of representing Israel in both houses of Congress and presenting to the American people and representatives around the world the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us,” Mr. Netanyahu said, according sources
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