The Speaker of the House said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon address a joint meeting of Congress.
Washington:
Leaders of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Friday, although the date of the speech has not yet been announced. has been defined.
The letter inviting Netanyahu was signed by Johnson, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
It was first reported by news website The Hill.
Johnson had said the Israeli leader would soon address a joint meeting of Congress, amid rising tensions with President Joe Biden’s administration over Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza.
The Republican president, a critic of the Democratic president’s Israel policy, said he would invite Netanyahu regardless of whether Democratic congressional leaders signed the letter.
Netanyahu, who has long aligned himself with U.S. Republicans, addressed party members in the Senate via video link in March, nearly a week after Schumer gave a Senate speech calling the prime minister an obstacle. to peace and calling for new elections in Israel.
Speeches given by foreign leaders at joint meetings of Congress are a rare honor, usually reserved for America’s closest allies or leading global figures. Netanyahu has already given three speeches of this type, the most recent in 2015.
This speech would make Netanyahu the first foreign leader to address joint congressional meetings four times. He is currently tied for third place with British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
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