Benjamin Netanyahu lauded US support for Israel’s war in Gaza but offered few details on ceasefire negotiations as he addressed a raucous joint session of US Congress that was boycotted by dozens of Democratic lawmakers and protested by thousands outside the US Capitol.
In a fiery speech in the House chamber, Netanyahu called for “total victory” in the nine-month-old war, dashing hopes among some that he would announce progress toward a ceasefire and the return of Israeli hostages before his meetings with Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday.
“We’re not only protecting ourselves. We’re protecting you … Our enemies are your enemy, our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory,” Netanyahu shouted, as House and Senate Republicans rose to their feet to applaud the Israeli prime minister.
Outside the fenced-off Capitol, police used pepper spray against protesters who chanted: “Netanyahu, you can’t hide. You’re committing genocide.” Streets in Washington’s downtown area were closed to traffic, while officers experienced in dealing with mass protests were drafted in from the New York police department.
Dozens of Democratic members of Congress – including the former House speaker Nancy Pelosi – said they would boycott the speech over humanitarian concerns about how Israel has prosecuted the war in Gaza, which has left an estimated 39,000 Palestinian civilians dead. Axios reported that nearly half of all Democratic lawmakers were absent from the joint session.
“Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation in the House Chamber today was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States,” Pelosi wrote on X after the speech, saying she had spent time today with family members of hostages calling for a ceasefire deal. “Families are asking for a ceasefire deal that will bring the hostages home – and we hope the Prime Minister would spend his time achieving that goal.”
Bernie Sanders, who also boycotted the speech, said that “it will be the first time in American history that a war criminal has been given that honor.” The international criminal court, which the United States does not recognise, is considering its prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant for Netanyahu (as well as other Israeli officials and senior Hamas leaders) for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Netanyahu brushed aside humanitarian concerns for the civilian population of Gaza, denying that Israel was blocking shipments of food aid to Palestinians and issuing an appeal for the US to fast-track military aid to Israel: “Give us the tools and we’ll get the job done faster.” He thanked Biden for his “heartfelt support for Israel”, while also praising Donald Trump for his “leadership” during his first term.
Netanyahu did not offer new insight on negotiations about a ceasefire with Hamas, saying only that “we’re actively engaged in intensive efforts” to secure the hostages’ release, adding that “some of those efforts are ongoing right now.”
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Biden at the White House on Thursday. A senior Biden administration official said the two would discuss the ceasefire deal, adding that there was a framework between Israel and Hamas but remained “some very serious implementation issues that still have to be resolved”.
“I don’t expect the meeting to be a yes or no,” the official said. “It’s kind of like, how do we close these final gaps? And there are some things we need from the Israeli side, no question. But there are also some key things that are only in the hands of Hamas.”
Netanyahu also denied that Israel would seek to “resettle” Gaza when the conflict ended, but demanded the “demilitarization and deradicalization” of the territory, calling it his “vision for Gaza”.
Netanyahu also delivered a provocative message against critics of the war, pandering to Republicans as he called anti-war college protesters “Iran’s useful idiots”.
“Many anti-Israel protesters choose to stand with evil,” said Netanyahu. “Many stand with Hamas.”
Police officers inside the Capitol arrested several members of the audience wearing shirts that read “Seal the deal NOW!” During the speech, Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, held up a black-and-white sign that read “war criminal” and “guilty of genocide”.
The address was Netanyahu’s first to the Congress since the 7 October attack by Hamas that left more than 1,200 Israelis dead and took more than 250 hostages, of which 120 are thought to remain in captivity.
In meetings with families of hostages this week, Netanyahu indicated that a ceasefire deal could be taking shape, but also said that he would maintain pressure on Hamas and hold out for the best terms possible.
A number of the families of hostages have demanded that he conclude a deal as quickly as possible. “I have to say that the urgency of the matter did not seem to resonate with him,” Daniel Neutra, whose brother Omer is one of eight American citizens in captivity, told a House panel. Inside the House chamber on Wednesday, some members in the audience wore bright yellow T-shirts that read: “Seal the deal NOW!”
The US political turmoil has largely overshadowed Netanyahu’s visit to Washington this week. Biden on Sunday announced that he would not seek re-election, endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris as the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump at the polls in November.
Harris was absent from the House rostrum on Wednesday, saying that she had a prior engagement. She later released a statement denying that she had boycotted the speech.
Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right Israeli national security minister, openly endorsed Donald Trump in the elections on Wednesday, saying that “a cabinet minister is supposed to maintain neutrality, but that’s impossible to do after Biden”.
In an interview with Bloomberg published hours before Netanyahu was due to speak, Ben Gvir said that Biden had been restraining Israel in fighting against regional enemies, including Iran.
“I believe that with Trump, Israel will receive the backing to act against Iran,” Ben Gvir said. “With Trump it will be clearer that enemies must be defeated.
“The US has always stood behind Israel in terms of armaments and weapons, yet this time the sense was that we were being reckoned with – that we were trying to be prevented from winning,” Ben Gvir added. “That happened on Biden’s watch and fed Hamas with lots of energy.”
Netanyahu is also expected to meet with Harris, the presumptive Democratic candidate, on Thursday, and then with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday. Harris would normally have sat directly behind Netanyahu, but said that she had a prior speaking engagement at a sorority in Indianapolis.
