Egypt Daily News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to deliver a speech before the US Congress today, in which he will try to put pressure on the United States in a tense context between the two allied countries after 9 months of war in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu’s visit to Washington comes in the midst of political turmoil in the United States that began with the attempted assassination of Republican candidate Donald Trump, the withdrawal of Democratic President Joe Biden from the race for the White House, and the entry of his deputy Kamala Harris into the line and her quest to obtain the Democratic Party’s nomination for the presidential elections in November.
He had previously had the opportunity to interfere in American politics. In 2015, he relied on Congress to try to force President Barack Obama to reject the nuclear agreement with Iran.
This is the fourth time, a record for a foreign leader, that Netanyahu has addressed Congress, something usually reserved for leaders who make state visits, according to Agence France-Presse.
Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver a speech before both houses of Congress starting at 6 p.m. GMT. On Thursday, Netanyahu will meet at the White House with President Joe Biden, with whom he has a complicated relationship.
On Friday, Netanyahu will meet Donald Trump at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, at the invitation of the former Republican president. The two men say they get along very well.
Netanyahu is not in Washington at the invitation of the White House, but rather at the invitation of the Republican parliamentary leaders, who were joined by the Democratic leaders against their will.
As for US Vice President Kamala Harris, she will be absent from Congress on Wednesday, citing lack of time, even though she is the one who should chair the session according to protocol.
The visit of the Israeli Prime Minister, who arrived in Washington on Monday, is causing chaos not only in the streets of the capital but a number of Democrats denounced the behavior of the right-wing Israeli leader in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinians, and announced a boycott of his speech before Congress.
Senator Bernie Sanders wrote on the X platform, “No, Netanyahu is not welcome in the US Congress,” as Agence France-Presse reported.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that he would not tolerate any opposition demonstrations during the speech.
In an indication of the extreme tension prevailing in the American capital on the eve of this controversial visit, about 200 Jewish anti-war demonstrators were arrested on Tuesday on the Capitol campus.
The United States is Israel’s first ally and main military supporter. But the Biden administration has expressed its concern in recent months about the repercussions of Israel’s response to the October 7 attack that sparked the war in Gaza, and insists on protecting civilians and allowing humanitarian aid into the country.
Washington went so far as to suspend the delivery of certain types of bombs, which angered the Israeli government.
Netanyahu is expected to use the congressional platform to defend his goal of eliminating Hamas and stress the threat from Iran, after the unprecedented attack on Israel on April 13, in an attempt to demand that the United States give him what he needs to end the war.
