A handout image made available by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, where he visited troops and received a comprehensive briefing on 18 July 2024. (Israeli Prime Minister Office / AFP)
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Washington this
week. - Netanyahu seeks to mend frosty relations with the US amid criticism over
Israel’s handling of the Gaza conflict and pressure for a ceasefire and talks
with the Palestinians. - The visit comes at a time when the upcoming US elections are in sharp
focus, with President Joe Biden announcing that he will not be standing for re-election.
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington this week, under pressure
to end the Gaza war both from Israelis who want hostages brought home and from
a US administration focusing increasingly on the presidential election.
Netanyahu’s
first visit to his most important international ally since returning for a
record sixth term as prime minister at the end of 2022 has been overshadowed by
President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek re-election.
A
meeting with Biden is tentatively planned for Tuesday if the president has
recovered from Covid-19, and Netanyahu is scheduled to address the US Congress
on Wednesday.
After
months of frosty relations with Washington over how Israel has conducted its
offensive launched in Gaza after the Hamas-led attack on 7 October, the visit
offers Netanyahu a platform to try to reset relations with Washington.
His
speech to Congress is expected to focus on coordinating the Israeli and US
response to the volatile situation in the Middle East, where there is a growing
danger of the Gaza war spilling over into a wider regional conflict.
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The
speech is likely to be less confrontational than an address Netanyahu gave to
Congress in 2015, when he criticised Barack Obama’s drive as president for a
nuclear deal with Iran.
US
pressure on Israel for a resumption of talks on reaching a political agreement
with the Palestinians, and a US threat to withhold arms, have underlined
perceptions in Israel that ties with Washington have weakened under Netanyahu.
He has also faced protests in Israel demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
“Part
of the goal is to try to show that with all that’s been said, with all the
protests, Netanyahu is still the leader, still has support, he still has strong
relations with America,” said Yonatan Freeman, an international relations
specialist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The
invitation for Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress – a rare honour
generally reserved for the closest US allies – was orchestrated by the House of
Representatives’ Republican leadership, which has accused Biden of not showing
sufficient support for Israel.
There
was no immediate sign that Netanyahu will see Republican presidential candidate
Donald Trump. The two forged a close relationship during Trump’s presidency but
Trump has since criticised Netanyahu and said the Gaza war must end quickly.
Isolated
Although
his welcome in Congress should be generally warm, protests roiling US campuses
suggest Netanyahu’s reception outside official Washington may be hostile.
Activists
opposing Israel’s offensive in Gaza and Washington’s support for Israel plan
protests at the US Capitol on Wednesday. Police expect a “large number of
demonstrators” and are making additional security arrangements but said
there were no known threats.
Israel
has been isolated internationally over its campaign in Gaza, which Gaza health
authorities say has killed almost 39 000 Palestinians, the expansion of
settlement-building in the occupied West Bank and Jewish settlers’ attacks on
Palestinians.
An
opinion issued on Friday by the International Court of Justice that Israel’s
occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal was criticised by Washington.
But it followed similar developments including a decision by the International
Criminal Court’s prosecutor to seek an arrest warrant against Netanyahu.
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In
Israel, Netanyahu faces growing calls for a deal that would halt the fighting
in Gaza and allow the return of 120 hostages – alive or dead – still held in
the enclave run by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Netanyahu
has resisted pressure for an inquiry into the security failures before the 7
October attack on Israel in which 1 200 people were kilned and over 250
abducted into Gaza.
Opinion
polls show most Israelis hold him responsible and would vote him out if
elections were held.
Netanyahu
will be accompanied by Noa Argamani, a hostage rescued by Israeli commandos
last month. Her presence has been criticised by other hostage families who say
Netanyahu has not been doing enough to secure the release of their loved ones.
(Additional
reporting by Emily Rose, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
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