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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to a joint session of the US Congress at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 3, 2015.
Washington
CNN
—
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to address parliament on Wednesday in a bid to shore up U.S. support for the Gaza war and redirect the attention of a nation that has for weeks been preoccupied with a range of domestic political issues.
Netanyahu’s speech to Congress comes at a critical juncture in the war, with U.S. officials expressing optimism about the prospects for an agreement to free hostages held by Hamas and end the conflict. Meanwhile, much of the public’s attention is focused on the debate over President Joe Biden’s age and mental capacity (which ultimately led to Biden announcing over the weekend that he was dropping his Democratic nomination) and the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Convention.
The war has also left more than 39,000 Palestinians dead, turned the Gaza Strip into a humanitarian disaster and fuelled growing discontent among leftists with how Netanyahu is waging the war.
Some members of parliament have said they will not attend Netanyahu’s speech, either to protest the war or because of already scheduled events.
Vice President Kamala Harris, currently the presumptive Democratic nominee, will not speak as she will not be in her constitutional role as president of the Senate during Netanyahu’s speech. Harris will be in Indianapolis on Wednesday but is scheduled to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday, a US official told CNN.
Senate President pro tempore Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington state, also declined to chair the speech.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democratic Party, said he would skip the speech to protest against the “total war” waged by the Netanyahu government in Gaza.
“No, Netanyahu should not be allowed into the United States Congress,” Sanders said in a statement. “In fact, his policies in Gaza and the West Bank, and his refusal to support a two-state solution, should be condemned in full.”
Biden is scheduled to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday.
Relations between Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu have steadily cooled as the war in Gaza has dragged on and the death toll in the beleaguered territory has continued to rise. The two leaders have known each other for decades, but there has been a not-so-brief exchange of harsh words as their differences over the future of the conflict have become more public.
Biden said Israel had achieved its stated objectives, described its actions in Gaza as “excessive,” and made clear he wanted to end the war. The president said he was “uncertain” about whether Israel had committed war crimes. He also suggested he believed Netanyahu was prolonging the war only for his own political survival.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu accused the United States of “withholding arms and ammunition from Israel”, a charge US officials firmly denied.
After arriving in Washington earlier this week, Netanyahu met with several relatives of American hostages held by Hamas, but none of the participants were satisfied with the outcome.
Former President Donald Trump and Netanyahu are also scheduled to meet on Friday at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump announced on Tuesday.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Jeremy Diamond and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.
