Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) has slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech to Congress next month, calling him a “war criminal” and accusing him of having no respect for U.S. laws.
Leaders of both houses of Congress have asked Netanyahu to address parliament on July 24, the latest gesture of wartime support for a longtime ally despite growing political tensions over Israel’s military strikes against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries signed a letter extending the invitation to Netanyahu, saying the offer was intended to “highlight solidarity between the United States and Israel.”
But not all lawmakers, including Ocasio-Cortez, are in favor of the visit.
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“This man should not be speaking before Congress. He’s a war criminal,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a post on X. “And he has zero respect for U.S. laws that are specifically designed to prevent U.S. weapons from fueling human rights abuses. His invitation should be rescinded. It should never have been sent in the first place.”
The congressman and other progressive “Squad” Democrats are furious that their party leaders agreed to invite Netanyahu to speak before Congress.
The invitation has sparked backlash from the left, with a growing number of Democrats criticizing Netanyahu’s handling of the Gaza war, which was waged in retaliation for the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack in Israel.
The debate took on new significance last month when Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), announced he would seek arrest warrants for senior Israeli and Hamas officials, including Prime Minister Netanyahu.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal on Tuesday night. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“We need Prime Minister Netanyahu to respect the president’s red lines of stopping the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and not continuing the military operation in Rafah instead of coming here,” Rep. Greg Cassar, a Democrat from Texas, told Fox News Digital earlier this month. “I don’t think now is a good time for him to come.”
Asked whether he planned to attend the speech, Kassar said: “I’m not planning to attend. I will participate in any efforts to encourage Prime Minister Netanyahu and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Ocasio-Cortez for comment.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited by congressional leaders to address the U.S. Congress next month, despite opposition from some who see him as a war criminal. (Sebastian Scheiner/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Earlier this month, she told reporters that Netanyahu’s visit would not be “productive.”
“I think it serves very little purpose and is clearly counterproductive, and I think it would be counterproductive for the president to address Congress at a time when we’re trying to finalize the details of a ceasefire,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I definitely don’t support it and I may not attend.”
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Netanyahu’s visit to the Capitol comes as relations between President Joe Biden and the Jewish state’s leadership have deteriorated in recent months.
Biden has privately and publicly criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the war and criticized the Israeli government for not allowing more humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
