Jerusalem:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will deliver a historic speech to the US Congress this week as he battles intense pressure to reach a ceasefire deal in the Gaza war with Hamas.
Israel’s longest-serving prime minister will on Wednesday become the first foreign leader to speak four times at a joint meeting of the two chambers – ahead of Britain’s Winston Churchill by three.
But analysts say the war in Gaza since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 has created worrying tensions between Israel and the United States, its main military and diplomatic backer. Netanyauhu’s office announced that he will meet with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday.
Washington fears a negative reaction to the growing number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, while protests in Israel by families of hostages taken by Hamas are also causing headaches for Netanyahu.
Biden and some Israeli ministers say a deal negotiated through Qatari, Egyptian and U.S. mediators is possible. A plan outlined in May proposed a six-week ceasefire, when some Israeli hostages would be exchanged for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that negotiators were “inside the 10-yard line and moving toward the goal line.”
However, Hamas has accused Netanyahu of trying to block a deal and Blinken has said he wants to “get the deal across the finish line” when Netanyahu is in Washington.
Double pressure
Israel has intensified its attacks on Gaza in recent weeks and Netanyahu has insisted that only increased military pressure can free the hostages and defeat Hamas.
“This double pressure is not delaying the agreement – it is advancing it,” Netanyahu told troops in Gaza on Thursday.
The October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP report based on Israeli figures. Hamas militants also captured 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza, including 42 who the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign killed at least 38,919 people in Gaza, also most of them civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the territory governed by Hamas.
Publicly, Biden has expressed strong support for Israel. But he expressed concern about an offensive on the southern city of Rafah in May and temporarily suspended deliveries of heavy bombs to Israel. The supply of 2,000-pound bombs remains embargoed.
“Never before has the atmosphere been so tense,” said Steven Cook, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“There is clearly tension in the relationship, especially between the White House and the Israeli prime minister,” Cook said in a commentary.
‘Political rhetoric’
Although US Republicans have pushed to invite Netanyahu to speak to Congress, he has lost support among Democrats.
One Jewish senator, Democrat Brian Schatz of Hawaii, announced he would boycott Wednesday’s speech, saying he would not listen to “political rhetoric that will do nothing to bring peace to the region.”
Netanyahu said after being invited back to Congress that he would “present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us.”
Cook said Netanyahu has two goals for his trip to Washington.
First, to show that it did not “harm” Israel’s relations with the United States.
Netanyahu will also “strive to shift the conversation away from the conflict in Gaza and toward the threat that Iran and its proxies pose” to Israel and the United States, Cook added.
Much attention will be focused on whether Netanyahu will meet with Donald Trump or a figure close to the Republican presidential candidate.
Despite the tensions, the United States has defended Israeli interests while playing a key role in mediation efforts, and the military relationship remains strong, according to officials.
Washington’s support could prove crucial at a time when Israel faces growing international criticism due to the growing humanitarian cost resulting from almost 300 days of war.
The International Criminal Court prosecutor in May asked judges to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Warrants were also requested for three Hamas leaders.
The Republican majority in the House of Representatives called for sanctions against the ICC.
The International Court of Justice ruled Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories illegal on Friday and, in February, called on the country to avoid any acts of genocide in its offensive in Gaza.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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