Netanyahu to bolster US support for Israel in his fourth Congress speech

Ahead of his speech in the US Congress Israeli Prime Minister PM Benjamin Netanyahu will hope to bolster Washingtonrsquos support for Israels fight against Hamas and other adversaries even as the Biden administration is urging him to focus on closing a deal to put an end to the devastating ninemonth war in Gaza that have claimed the lives of around 40000 PalestiniansNetanyahu has been assured a warm welcome from Republican lawmakers who have arranged his speech in the House chamber The Israeli PM would become the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of the Congress for the fourth time surpassing late British PM Winston ChurchillVice President Kamala Harris is unlikely to attend the address as she has a trip scheduled However Netanyahu is set to meet Biden and Harris on Thursday and former President Donald Trump at MaraLago on FridayRepublicans have slammed Harris the new Democratic frontrunner for the presidency as a sign of ldquodisloyaltyrdquo to an ally Interestingly Donald Trumps runningmate JD Vance said that he too would not be attending the Israeli leaders speech as he will be busy campaigning for the upcoming electionMeanwhile many Democrats and independents are planning to boycott the Israeli PMrsquos appearance There are also concerns over massive protests being planned outside the Capitol against Palestinian deaths as well as Netanyahus inability to free Israeli and American hostages who have been abducted by Hamas House Speaker Mike Johnson warned of a zerotolerance policy against any disturbance in the Capitol building ldquoIt is our tradition to acknowledge every guest speakers right to free expression even if we disagree with their viewpointrdquo the Louisiana Republican wrote to members on TuesdayJohnson arranged the address and said it is an ldquohonour that marks both the countries historically warm bondsrdquo However the focus on the visit has been diminished owing to the recent turmoil in American politics including the assassination attempt against Trump and President Joe Bidens decision not to seek reelectionNetanyahu hopes to project the image of a tough respected statesman for an increasingly critical audience back home in Israel That may be difficult given the wide division among Americans over Israels ongoing warMany Democrats who support Israel but have been critical of Netanyahu see the address as a Republican effort to cast itself as the party most loyal to Israel and to provide the PM with a muchneeded political reprieveldquoI dont know all the motivations for Speaker Johnson initiating the invitation but he wanted to throw a political lifeline to Netanyahu whose popularity is quite low in Israel right nowrdquo Senator Chris Van Hollen who is among the dozens of Democrats set to boycott the address said on TuesdayThe United States is Israels most important ally arms supplier and source of military aid Israel is amid an intense battle to break Hamas after the group attacked Israelis on October 7 2023 Netanyahus visit to the US is his first abroad since the war started and comes under the shadow of the arrest warrants sought against him by the International Criminal Court ICC over alleged Israel war crimes against Palestinians However the US does not recognise ICCDuring his visit Netanyahu plans to press for freeing the hostages build support for continuing Israels battle against Hamas and argue for continuing to confront Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Iranianallied groups in the region The US France and others are seeking to calm border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel fearing a larger warNetanyahu might also address a new Chinabrokered deal between Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah to form a government together The agreement was an attempt to resolve a rivalry that could make it even harder for Palestinians to secure a role governing Gaza whenever the war ends Israel immediately denounced the pact and State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said a terror group Hamas should have no role in governing PalestiniansSome Democrats are wary about Netanyahu who used a 2015 joint address to Congress to denounce thenPresident Barack Obamas pending nuclear deal with Iran National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said he does not expect Wednesdays speech to be a repeat of 2015sWith AP inputs