Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the US Congress on June 13.
Washington:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the US Congress on June 13, media reported on Monday, amid growing pressure for the American ally and Hamas to agree to a permanent ceasefire.
The development, reported by Punchbowl News and Politico, comes as Netanyahu faces intense criticism over the civilian death toll in the war in Gaza, which has heightened tensions with President Joe Biden’s administration.
Biden is expected to be in Italy for a G7 summit during Netanyahu’s stopover, although the Democrat’s schedule for a week on Saturday has not yet been officially announced.
Biden on Friday presented what he called a three-phase Israeli plan that would end the conflict, release all hostages and lead to the reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian territory without Hamas in power.
Netanyahu’s office stressed that the war triggered by the October 7 attack would continue until all “Israel’s objectives are achieved”, including the destruction of Hamas’ military and government capabilities.
The four party leaders in the House and Senate asked Netanyahu last week to address a joint meeting of Congress in a letter expressing solidarity with Israel “in its fight against terrorism, especially as Hamas continues to hold American and Israeli citizens captive.” .
The visit comes after Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in March called for Israel to hold new elections, in a rare example of a senior American official’s strident criticism of the country’s handling of the war in Gaza.
The rebuke from Schumer, the highest-ranking elected Jewish-American in history, came amid expressions of dismay from the White House regarding the number of deaths in the conflict, triggered by the October 7 attacks carried out by Hamas militants.
Progressives, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who votes with Democrats, condemned Netanyahu for his handling of the military response and vowed to disregard the right-wing leader’s speech.
“It is a very sad day for our country that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited – by leaders of both parties – to speak at a joint meeting of the United States Congress,” Sanders said in a statement over the weekend.
“Israel, of course, had the right to defend itself against the horrific Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, but it did not, and does not, have the right to go to war against the entire Palestinian people,” he added, calling Netanyahu a a “war criminal”.
The war broke out when Hamas militants attacked Israel, resulting in 1,194 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official figures.
More than 36,470 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, according to data provided by the Ministry of Health in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
According to the Israeli military, 294 soldiers have been killed in the military campaign since the ground offensive began on October 27.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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