Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to address a joint session of parliament on July 24, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Parliamentary leaders formally invited Netanyahu last week to pledge wartime support for the longtime ally despite growing political tensions over Israel’s military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the date for the speech was in flux. The speech was set for July 24, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private plans.
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.”
Netanyahu invited to address parliament as Biden urges Hamas to accept Israeli peace offer
Netanyahu’s speech to a deeply divided parliament is sure to be contentious and draw much protest from lawmakers inside the parliament building and from pro-Palestinian protesters outside, and will highlight deepening divisions within his party in an election year over his waging of the prime minister’s months-long war with Hamas.
Democrats most critical of Netanyahu’s tactics are expected to sit out the speech, with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders saying, “Prime Minister Netanyahu is a war criminal. I will definitely not attend.”
FILE – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presides over a cabinet meeting at Kirya military base, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defense, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Dec. 24, 2023. Top U.S. leaders have invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress. The visit would be a show of wartime support for a longtime ally amid growing political divisions over Israel’s military offensive into Gaza. The invitation, by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, and other leaders, had been in the works for some time. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, Pool, File)
Netanyahu’s visit to the Capitol comes as relations between President Joe Biden and the Jewish state’s leader have deteriorated in recent months. Biden has privately and publicly criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the war and the Israeli government for not allowing more humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Last weekend, Biden unveiled a proposed agreement to end the fighting in Gaza and has been stepping up pressure on Netanyahu to accept the deal. Many Israelis have urged him to accept the terms of the agreement, but Biden’s far-right allies have threatened to quit the coalition if he does.
Netanyahu said a permanent ceasefire in Gaza was “not achievable” until long-standing conditions to end the war were met, signalling a move to water down what Biden called an Israeli proposal.
Johnson first proposed inviting the Israeli prime minister, saying it would be a “great honour” to do so. The move came just after Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the US, delivered a lengthy speech on the Senate floor in which he sharply criticised Netanyahu, saying Netanyahu had “lost his way” amid Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza.
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Still, Schumer said he would accept the invitation because “our relationship with Israel is strong and transcends any prime minister or president.”
