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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to deliver a speech to the US Congress this week amid President Joe Biden’s decision on Sunday to exit the presidential race.
Israel’s longest-serving premier will on Wednesday become the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of the two chambers four times — pulling ahead of Britain’s Winston Churchill on three.
But analysts say the Gaza war since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks has created worrying tensions between Israel and the United States, its main military and diplomatic backer, with Washington pushing Israel to seek a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Netanyauhu’s office has announced that the two men would meet on Tuesday.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog was one of the first world leaders to react to Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he would not be seeking re-election as president.
He thanked Biden “for his friendship and steadfast support for the Israeli people”.
Washington fears a backlash from the mounting civilian toll in the Gaza Strip, while protests in Israel by families of hostages taken by Hamas are also causing headaches for Netanyahu.
Biden and some Israeli ministers say a deal negotiated through Qatar, Egypt and US mediators is possible.
A plan outlined in May proposed a six-week ceasefire when some Israeli hostages would be swapped for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Hamas has accused Netanyahu of seeking to block the deal however and Blinken said he wanted to “bring the agreement over the finish line” when Netanyahu is in Washington.
Israel has intensified its attacks on Gaza in recent weeks and Netanyahu has insisted that only piling on military pressure can free the hostages and beat Hamas.
“This double pressure is not delaying the deal – it is advancing it,” Netanyahu told troops in Gaza on Thursday.
The October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Hamas militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza, including 42 the Israeli military said were dead.
While US Republicans pressed to invite Netanyahu to address Congress, he has lost support among Democrats.
One Jewish senator, Democrat Brian Schatz of Hawaii, announced he would boycott Wednesday’s speech, saying he would not listen to “political rhetoric that will do nothing to bring peace in the region.”
Netanyahu said after being invited to Congress again that he would “present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us.”
AFP.
