At a time of turmoil following the announcement of Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is flying to Washington on Monday under the heavy burden of a war in Gaza that has lasted almost ten months and whose end is uncertain. He is doing so not only the day after Biden’s withdrawal as a candidate, but also with relations with his main ally at a low point due to criticism of the way he is handling the conflict, which has already caused nearly 39,000 deaths and a humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
Israel “will remain an ally of Washington no matter who is elected president,” Netanyahu told local media before setting out on the trip. He also referred to the planned meeting with Biden, with whom he hopes to address the goals he has set for himself to end the conflict. These are, Netanyahu explained, “to advance in the critical months ahead on the goals that are important to both of our countries: achieving the release of all our hostages, defeating Hamas, confronting the terrorist axis of Iran and ensuring that all citizens of Israel can return safely to their homes in the north and south.”
The Israeli president, who will address the US Congress on Wednesday, will try to convince the authorities in that country to support the hard line he has imposed in the management of the war. This strategy is behind many disagreements in the international arena, including with the US. Washington has criticised the lack of future plans for the Strip and has cancelled the delivery of certain arms shipments, while trying to pressure the parties to reach a truce.
In recent months, the Democratic president has come under pressure from within his own ranks and during the primaries, where he had to accept a protest vote against the bombing of Gaza. The rejection of the war also spread with numerous sit-ins at universities across the United States, with clashes with the police and arrests.
Netanyahu was originally scheduled to travel on Sunday, but Biden contracted Covid last week and has had his public schedule frozen for several days. “I have known him for more than 40 years” and “this will be an opportunity to thank him for what he has done for Israel in the war and during his long and distinguished career in public service,” the prime minister said.
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Controversy has surrounded the preparations for the Israeli president’s visit following a request from the hostages’ families forum that he suspend it until an agreement on their release has been reached.
However, some family members will accompany Netanyahu, a spokesman for the group confirmed. So will Noa Argamani, who was freed in the Gaza Strip along with three other hostages on June 8 in an operation in which Israeli troops killed at least 274 Palestinians, according to Hamas government health authorities.
The prime minister faces almost daily protests against him, especially from those calling for elections and from the families of the hostages. On Saturday alone, up to 80 locations across the country hosted protests, with the largest taking place in central Tel Aviv.
On Sunday, the prime minister held a meeting specifically to discuss the state of negotiations being held to try to bring back the hostages still in Gaza, estimated at around 120, of whom around 40 have already been declared dead. So far, the only thing that has been revealed is that an Israeli negotiating team will return to Qatar, one of the countries acting as mediators, on Thursday.
Meanwhile, doubts are growing within the army about the feasibility of being able to eliminate Hamas, one of Israel’s stated goals. The country has recently been forced to extend the mandatory military service from 32 to 36 months. At the same time, and for the first time, the authorities planned to start recruiting ultra-Orthodox, who until now have been exempt, on Sunday.
Netanyahu is making his first trip to Washington since being re-elected prime minister in December 2022. He will meet with Biden, with whom he has had a sometimes tense relationship over Gaza despite US support, and also on the agenda is a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris, who has already put herself forward as the Democratic presidential candidate.
Netanyahu is expected to address a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday for the fourth time, although the first time during the current war. The last time was in 2015, when Barack Obama was president, when he warned him of a “nuclear nightmare” if he made a deal with Iran. Along with the families of the hostages, he will also be accompanied by relatives of some of the soldiers killed in the war. There are already street protests planned against the Israeli leader and it is not ruled out that some congressmen will also show their rejection.
A group of 500 Israeli academics sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, on Tuesday, asking him to withdraw the invitation to the prime minister, saying that he “has demonstrated his indifference to the continuing hell endured by the hostages.” American evangelical Christians, like Johnson himself, are fervent allies of the State of Israel.
Johnson, the country’s third-ranking official, visited the Columbia University campus in April amid protests in solidarity with Gaza, turning into a demonstration of support for the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza. Meanwhile, Jewish settlers are courting religious Republicans four months before an election in which Donald Trump, who has promised to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, is the favourite.
On board a controversial plane
For this trip to the United States, Benjamin Netanyahu will debut the controversial plane named Wing of Zionthe Israeli version of the American Air Force One, The plane, with about 60 seats, has already had to make a first flight across the Atlantic these days because it does not have the capacity for the entire delegation and the planned team “after several years gathering dust at the Nevatim military air base” in the south of the country, according to The Times of IsraelCommissioned a decade ago, the project has been delayed amid the political wars that have plagued Israel. The $207 million it cost (around 190 million euros) is too much for the opposition and a necessity for the Prime Minister’s entourage.
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