When Israel’s prime minister enters Congress on Wednesday evening, he is greeted with loud cheers, cheers, whistling and wild clapping. He smiled and thanked the audience, but began his speech with seriousness. – This is a clash between the barbaric and the civilized, he says, and then urges that Israel and the US continue to stand together in the war against Hamas. – Because when we stand together, we will win, and they will lose. My friends, I am here to assure you that we will win, he says to a cheering audience. Benjamin Netanyahu is welcomed by Republican Congress leader Mike Johnson. Photo: Getty Images / AFP Plan for Gaza It was expected that Israel’s prime minister would present what his plan for the Gaza Strip after the war is. According to Axios, the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates must have met to discuss this last week. Netanyahu shot down rumors that Israel has plans to settle the Gaza Strip after the war. – My vision for Gaza is demilitarization and deradicalisation. He did not elaborate on what he meant by that, but clarified that Israel will continue to have overall security control of Gaza for the “foreseeable future”. Criticized the International Criminal Court The Israeli Prime Minister then raised several of the debts against Israel, such as not allowing emergency aid to enter the Gaza Strip. He claims again that Israel allows the aid to pass through the border crossings, and that it is Hamas who stole it. This despite the fact that aid organizations constantly deny that the aid slipped in. Netanyahu also made strong claims that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is trying to gag Israel. An ICC prosecutor asked in May for an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and three Hamas leaders for war crimes. – If they manage to tie our hands, the USA is next. It will make it more difficult for democratic countries to fight terrorism, he says. The American-Palestinian democrat Rashida Tlaib was one of the few in the hall who did not clap during the speech. Photo: Anna Moneymaker / AFP Netanyahu once again claimed that Israel is doing everything they can to ensure that as few civilians as possible are killed in the Gaza Strip, and that it is Hamas’s strategy to kill Palestinian civilians. – They want Palestinian civilians to die, so that Israel is blackened in the international media. That way they can repeat 7 October again and again. Netanyahu believes that the Israeli soldiers should not receive criticism, but instead be honored. A common enemy Netanyahu singled out Iran and its supporters Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as important common enemies to crack down on. – For all we know, Iran can finance the demonstrations that take place outside this building. Netanyahu referred to the protesters as “useful idiots” for Iran. “Not that there are that many”, he added, which was met with laughter from the audience. He suggested forming a new alliance in the Middle East “as the West did after the Second World War”. After the speech, Hamas made a statement to Reuters. They believe that anyone who enters into an alliance with Netanyahu is guilty of treason, or betrayal, against those who fell in the war. Also the last time Netanyahu spoke in Congress, in 2015, Iran was an important topic. That time he was invited by Republicans without the White House and President Barack Obama being told. Then Netanyahu spent most of the time on the podium criticizing the Obama administration’s Iran policy. Police used pepper spray against protesters outside Congress in Washington DC on Wednesday. Photo: Nathan Howard / Reuters news spoke to some of those who stood outside the congress building and demonstrated. – Netanyahu called you “useful idiots” for Iran. What do they think about it? – I understand that Netanyahu has difficulties with people who call the genocide what it is, replies Alex, who is there with her friend Grace. – Even the ICJ calls it apartheid, adds Alex. The two friends describe the war on the Gaza Strip as a genocide the whole world can follow minute by minute. – He is a war criminal, so we don’t really care much about what he says. Alex, who does not wish to show his face, shows the poster he brought to the demonstration on Wednesday. Photo: Tove Bjørgaas / news Former hostages present Several of the former hostages were present at the Congress. Among others Noa Argamani, who a short time ago was taken out of the Gaza Strip in an operation in which several hundred Palestinians were killed. – We are so happy that you are back, Netanyahu said to Argamani, and added that he will not rest until all the hostages are back. At the same time, the families of several of the hostages stand outside Congress and demonstrate against Netanyahu’s inability to enter into a prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas. Noa Argamani and Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara Netanyahu. Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP Netanyahu spent a lot of time thanking Israeli service members who contributed during the terrorist attack on 7 October and in the war on the Gaza Strip, and told the stories of several of them. – As the Bible says, they will rise up like lions. They stood up like lions, like the lions of Israel, he shouted from the podium and hit the table. Democrats boycott It was congressional leaders from both the Republican and Democratic camps who invited Netanyahu, something several Democrats reacted strongly to. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of those who will boycott the speech and who calls Netanyahu a war criminal. Photo: X Former congressional leader for the Democrats, Nancy Pelosi, is one of those who think it is wrong that such a disliked prime minister gets to speak in Congress. When asked by CNN if she herself would invite him, she answered bluntly: “absolutely not”. Pelosi did not meet in Congress on Wednesday. About half of the Democrats in the Senate and the House of Representatives boycotted the speech. Elon Musk was one of those present in Congress on Wednesday. He himself says to Fox News that he was invited as Benjamin Netanyahu’s guest. Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP Published 24.07.2024, at 18.49 Updated 24.07.2024, at 22.59
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Netanyahu speaks in Congress – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
