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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given a robust defence of his country’s war in Gaza in a controversial address to a joint session of the US Congress that was boycotted by a number of Democratic politicians.
Thousands of demonstrators on the streets near the capital called for the US to stop arming Israel and bring an end to the conflict, in which nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, while the prime minister vowed to fight until Israel achieves “total victory” against Hamas, the militant group that has ruled in Gaza for nearly two decades.
“America and Israel must stand together,” Netanyahu said. “Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory.”
Netanyahu’s government is under intense international and domestic pressure to agree a ceasefire but so far peace talks with Hamas, mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt, have failed to secure a deal to end the conflict or the release of the 116 Israelis still thought to be held hostage.
The prime minister nonetheless laid out his postwar vision, telling US lawmakers that Israel wants to see a “demilitarised and deradicalised Gaza” and that it does not intend to reoccupy the enclave but would seek to “retain overriding security control” for the “foreseeable future” to prevent a resurgence of Hamas.
He was vague on postwar governance in the area, calling for a civilian administration run by Palestinians “who do not seek to destroy Israel”.
The US and other allies have been working to revitalise the Palestinian Authority, which has official control over the occupied West Bank, to eventually play a role in governing Gaza, but this has been rejected by Netanyahu.
The war in Gaza has strained Israel’s relations with the US and Netanyahu made an effort to strike a conciliatory tone in the chamber — a notable contrast with a speech he gave in 2015 urging Congress to scuttle the Iran nuclear deal that had recently agreed by the US and other governments, infuriating the Obama White House and Democrats.
But a significant minority of Democrats boycotted his speech, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who described the address as “by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honoured with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States”. Pelosi called for a ceasefire deal that would end the conflict and free the remaining hostages.
Security was tight for the event. Police blocked the streets near the Capitol as thousands of demonstrators called for an end to the conflict and protested the prime minister’s presence in Washington, chanting: “Netanyahu, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.”
After a turbulent fortnight in US politics, Netanyahu on Wednesday praised former president Donald Trump who was the target of a failed assassination attempt earlier this month. Relations between the two men soured when Netanyahu recognised Joe Biden’s electoral victory in 2020. He will meet Trump in Florida on Friday.
Netanyahu also thanked Biden for “half a century of friendship with Israel”. He will meet the president and vice-president Kamala Harris separately on Thursday and will be under pressure to accept the US-backed three-stage ceasefire deal announced in June that could see dozens of mostly civilian Israeli hostages swapped for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners during a six week cessation of hostilities.
A senior US administration official said the deal was in the “closing stages”.
“There are some things we need from the Israeli side, no question, but there’s also some key things that are only in the hands of Hamas, because the hostages are in the hands of Hamas and at the end of the day, this is a negotiation for the release of hostages with a terrorist group,” the official said.
Additional reporting by Mehul Srivastava in London