WASHINGTON D.C. (AP) – Officials from Egypt, Israel, the United States and Qatar were expected to meet Thursday in Doha with the aim of resuming talks for a proposed three-phase cease-fire to end the war between Israel and Hamas and free the remaining hostages. But an Israeli official said Israel’s negotiating team was delayed and would likely be dispatched next week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress in Washington on Wednesday as thousands of protesters gathered near the U.S. Capitol to denounce the war. Hamas slammed the speech Thursday and accused Netanyahu of obstructing efforts to end the war and return the hostages.
Netanyahu has signalled that a cease-fire deal could be taking shape after nine months of war, but during his fiery speech to Congress, he vowed to press forward with Israel’s war until he achieves “total victory.”
Netanyahu denounced American opponents of the war in Gaza as “idiots,” taking a combative stance in a visit the Biden administration has hoped will yield progress in negotiations to end the fighting.
Netanyahu used the high-profile address to a joint meeting of Congress to emphasize longstanding and close ties between the United States and Israel. But the speech put in sharp relief the divisions in American society stirred by the war, with dozens of Democratic lawmakers boycotting the address and thousands of protesters outside the Capitol condemning the war and the humanitarian crisis created by it.
Some of the protests near the Capitol turned chaotic. That included one within a few hundred yards of the tightly guarded Capitol grounds, at Union Station, where protesters spray-painted marble statuary and replaced American flags with Palestinian ones. Officers on streets surrounding the Capitol brawled with demonstrators, swinging batons and spraying tear gas.
Speaking for nearly an hour to frequent applause from U.S. lawmakers, as well as stony silence from many leading Democrats, Netanyahu said the U.S. has a shared interest in his country’s fight against Hamas and other Iran-backed armed groups.
“America and Israel must stand together. When we stand together something really simple happens: We win, they lose,” said Netanyahu, who wore a yellow pin expressing solidarity with the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
But the Israeli leader soon pivoted to a darker tone as he derided those protesting the war on college campuses and elsewhere in the U.S., gesturing to demonstrations happening on the streets outside the Capitol. He called protesters “useful idiots” for Israel’s adversaries.
Netanyahu — making his first trip abroad since the war started — made no direct mention of months of U.S.-led mediation for a cease-fire and hostage-release. His remarks did not appear to close the door on a deal but showed no sign he was eager for one.
“Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’s military capabilities and its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home,” he said. “That’s what total victory means. And we will settle for nothing less.”
Hostages freed from Gaza and families of those still in captivity listened in the House chamber. At least five of them rose to display T-shirts with slogans demanding an end to the war and the freeing of remaining hostages. Security officers removed the five.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American serving Congress, went a step further, holding a sign that said “WAR CRIMINAL” on one side and “GUILTY OF GENOCIDE” on the other. Tlaib is one of Netanyahu’s most strident critics in Congress and was censured for her comments last year against the Israel-Hamas war, which has killed more than 39,000 in Gaza.
She has relatives in the West Bank and represents a Michigan district with many Palestinian Americans.
Netanyahu steered away from discussing efforts by the United States and Arab allies to negotiate an end to the fighting and a release of surviving hostages seized by Hamas-led militants. He accused American protesters of the war of standing with the militants who he said killed babies.
“These protesters that stand with them, they should be ashamed of themselves,” he said. Some 1,200 people in Israel were killed in the Oct. 7 attack that started the war.
Netanyahu — who is frequently accused of wading into U.S. politics in favour of conservative and Republican causes — started his remarks with praise of President Joe Biden. But he turned to lavishing praise on former president and current presidential contender Donald Trump “for all he’s done for Israel.”
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday, and with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
Kentucky Republican Rep. Andy Barr praised the prime minister’s speech as an exhortation to see Israeli and American interests as intertwined.
“Why should members of Congress, why should the American people defend Israel in their moment of need? Because it is in the national security interest of the United States to defeat Hamas and other Iranian proxies,” Barr said.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, said Netanyahu’s speech was made for Trump’s GOP.
“We didn’t hear anything about meaningful progress towards a bilateral cease-fire in return for hostages. We didn’t hear anything about peace,” he said.
The families of American hostages being held in Gaza said they were “profoundly disappointed” by Netanyahu’s speech. In a joint statement, the families said he “failed to commit to the hostage deal that is now on the table even though Israel’s senior defence and intelligence officials have called on him to do so.”
Eight Americans are believed to be held by Hamas, including three who were killed.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who boycotted the speech, called Netanyahu’s speech “the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honoured with the privilege of addressing the Congress.”
Delivering the speech during Israel’s evening prime time, Netanyahu also had an eye on the audience back home. Netanyahu, whose popularity has plummeted from its pre-war levels, aimed to portray himself as a statesman respected by Israel’s most important ally and welcomed in the corridors of Washington. That task is complicated by Americans’ increasingly divided views on Israel and the war.
The appearance made Netanyahu the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of Congress four times, surpassing Winston Churchill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson gave Netanyahu a warm welcome. More than 60 Democrats and political independent Bernie Sanders boycotted Netanyahu’s speech. The most notable absence was right behind him: Harris, who serves as president of the Senate, said a long-scheduled trip kept her from attending.
The next Democrat in line, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, declined to attend, so Sen. Ben Cardin, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, served as “senator pro tempore” in place of her.
Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, was also a no-show for Netanyahu’s speech, citing the need to campaign.
Support for Israel has long carried political weight in U.S. politics. But Netanyahu’s visit has been somewhat overshadowed by U.S. political turmoil, including the assassination attempt against Trump and Biden’s decision not to seek another term.
Many Democrats attended the address despite their criticism of Netanyahu, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who in a floor speech in March called for new elections in Israel. Schumer, of New York, said then that Netanyahu has “lost his way” and is an obstacle to peace in the region.
The United States is Israel’s most important ally, arms supplier and source of military aid. The Biden administration had said it wants to see Netanyahu focus his visit on helping it complete a deal for a cease-fire and hostage-release. Growing numbers of Israelis accuse Netanyahu of prolonging the war in order to avoid a likely fall from power whenever the conflict ends.
Netanyahu’s visit came under the shadow of arrest warrants sought against him by the International Criminal Court over alleged Israel war crimes against Palestinians. The United States does not recognize the ICC.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu is set to make a long-awaited White House visit Thursday to meet with President Joe Biden and likely Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at an important moment for all three politicians.
Biden is pressing to get Israel and Hamas to seal a U.S.-backed proposal to release remaining hostages in Gaza over three phases — something that would be a legacy-affirming achievement for the 81-year-old Democrat, who abandoned his reelection bid and endorsed Harris. It could also be a boon for Harris in her bid to succeed him.
White House officials say that the negotiations are in the closing stages but there are issues that need to be resolved.
Following their midday talks, Biden and Netanyahu will meet the families of American hostages.
Harris, who will meet separately with Netanyahu later, is trying to demonstrate that she has the mettle to serve as commander in chief. She’s being scrutinized by those on the political left who say Biden hasn’t done enough to force Netanyahu to end the war and by Republicans looking to brand her as insufficient in her support for Israel.
A senior administration official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said there is “no daylight between the president and vice president” on Israel. Harris’ last one-on-one engagement with Netanyahu was in March 2021, but she’s taken part in more than 20 calls between Biden and Netanyahu.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, is trying to navigate his own delicate political moment. He faces pressure from the families of hostages demanding a cease-fire agreement to bring their loved ones home and from far-right members of his governing coalition who demand he resist any deal that could keep Israeli forces from eliminating Hamas.
The vice president is the presiding officer of the Senate and would typically co-preside over such an event with the House speaker, Republican Mike Johnson. But there have been other instances in recent history when the vice president has skipped such addresses. Biden, as vice president, skipped an address Netanyahu made to Congress in 2015.
Harris “should be here whether she likes the prime minister of Israel or not, whether she respects him or not, she should be here,” said Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who organized a news conference with fellow Senate Republicans that largely focused on Harris’ absence from the speech. ”It is a disgrace.”
White House officials said that her absence wasn’t a slight and was solely due to scheduling conflicts. Harris spoke on Wednesday to the historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta before flying to Houston ahead of an address to the American Federation of Teachers on Thursday. Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, also skipped the speech to campaign.
“The vice president has been unwavering in her commitment to the security of Israel,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Harris has long spoken of her strong support for Israel. The first overseas trip of her Senate career in early 2017 was to Israel, and one of her first acts in office was to introduce a resolution opposing a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel.
She’s also spoken of her personal ties to Israel, including memories of raising money as a child to plant trees in Israel, installing a mezuzah near the front door of the vice president’s residence in Washington (her husband is Jewish) and her connections to pro-Israel groups including the conservative American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the liberal J Street.
Harris has largely been in lockstep with Biden throughout the conflict, but at moments she’s been a front-runner for tougher Biden administration rhetoric on Israel.
She used a high-profile address in March in Selma, Alabama, a day before she met with Netanyahu rival and Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz to decry Palestinians “starving” in the face of “inhumane” conditions and to urge Israel to do more to alleviate civilian suffering in Gaza.
