The Israeli leader’s visit to Washington comes amid political turmoil in the United States, which 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 race and her quest to obtain the Democratic Party’s nomination for the presidential elections in November.
Netanyahu has had the opportunity to intervene in American politics before. In 2015, he relied on Congress to try to force President Barack Obama to reject the nuclear deal with Iran.
This is the fourth time, a record for a foreign leader, that Netanyahu has addressed Congress, something usually reserved for leaders on state visits, according to Agence France-Presse.
Netanyahu is scheduled to address 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 Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida at the invitation of the former Republican president. The two men say they get along very well.
It is noteworthy that 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 that is not limited to the streets of the capital.
A number of Democrats have condemned the right-wing Israeli leader’s conduct in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which has killed thousands of Palestinians, and have announced a boycott of his speech to Congress.
“No, Netanyahu is not welcome in the US Congress,” Senator Bernie Sanders wrote on Twitter, AFP reported.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that he would not tolerate any opposition demonstrations during the speech.
In an indication of the high 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 primary ally and military backer. But the Biden administration has been alarmed in recent months by the fallout from Israel’s response to the October 7 attack that sparked the war in Gaza, and insists on protecting civilians and allowing humanitarian aid in.
Washington has gone so far as to suspend the delivery of certain types of bombs, without stopping its support, which has angered the Israeli government.
Netanyahu is expected to use the congressional podium 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.
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