WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will deliver a landmark speech to the US Congress Wednesday, seeking to rally support at a time of tensions between his country and its main military backer over the war in Gaza.
Washington has been increasingly critical of the mounting toll on civilians from more than nine months of war in the narrow coastal territory, while protests in Israel by families of hostages taken by Hamas are also causing headaches for Netanyahu at home.
The Israeli premier’s visit comes at a time of political upheaval in the United States, with a gunman targeting Republican candidate Donald Trump, and President Joe Biden bowing out of the 2024 race for the White House and endorsing his deputy, Kamala Harris.
Prior to departing Israel on Monday, Netanyahu said he would “seek to anchor the bipartisan support that is so important for Israel” in his address to Congress.
“I will tell my friends on both sides of the aisle that regardless who the American people choose as their next president, Israel remains America’s indispensable and strong ally in the Middle East,” he said in a statement.
Trump takes fight against Harris to North Carolina rally
Biden will meet Netanyahu on Thursday, while Harris will hold separate talks with the Israeli leader. She will not, however, attend his speech due to previously scheduled travel.
Netanyahu will also meet with Trump – with whose administration he had a much less fraught relationship than Biden’s – in Florida on Friday.
When he speaks on Wednesday, Israel’s longest-serving premier will become the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of the two chambers four times – pulling ahead of Britain’s Winston Churchill.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said Tuesday that with Israel facing attacks from various Iranian proxies, “it has never been more important than it is right now to stand with our closest ally in the Middle East.”
‘Should not be welcomed’
But Netanyahu has lost backing among some liberal lawmakers, including independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who said Tuesday that “Netanyahu should not be welcomed into the US Congress.”
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