House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has agreed to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of Congress.
“We will certainly extend that invitation,” Johnson said on CNBC.
Johnson said that Netanyahu had invited him to speak before the Israeli Knesset, adding that it would be a "great honor" to do so.
The Israeli prime minister had also requested a separate meeting with Senate Democrats during their caucus lunch on Wednesday, but Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declined.
Two sources familiar with the discussions told Axios that Schumer rejected Netanyahu's request to address Democrats via video. The Israeli prime minister spoke to Senate Republicans at their lunch on Wednesday.
Punchbowl News first reported Schumer's rejection of Netanyahu's request.
A spokesperson for Schumer told Axios that the request was declined because he "does not think these discussions should happen in a partisan manner."
Schumer is already too late. The partisan split in Congress over Israel has become another reminder of our broken politics. Netanyahu spoke to the Republican luncheon via video on Wednesday and, seeing an opportunity to advance Israel's interests, blasted Schumer's remarks, driving a wedge between the two parties.
“You know, we’re trying to tell them how to fight a war,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), describing Netanyahu’s reaction to Schumer’s remarks. “They didn’t try to tell us how to fight World War II, or Iraq, or Afghanistan.”
Israel was created in 1948, three years after World War II ended.
“I care deeply about Israel and its long-term future,” Schumer told reporters. “When you make the issue partisan, you hurt the cause of helping Israel.”
Schumer should practice what he preaches. He had no qualms about jumping feet-first into the volatile Israeli political situation by calling for new elections.
By driving a wedge between the two parties and hyping the partisan nature of the dispute, Netanyahu is causing Republicans to "hug" him even tighter, as the Washington Post points out.
“I think it’s unfortunate that Republicans may be trying to use it as a wedge issue, politically,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). Blumenthal has not called for new elections in Israel yet.
In his remarks, which included a question-and-answer session, Netanyahu acknowledged that he was speaking to “a friendly audience,” Tuberville said, given Republicans are “100 percent” behind him while Democrats are raising objections. And the prime minister said he intended to follow through with Israel’s plan to eliminate the remaining battalions of Hamas fighters, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said — which Israeli officials have said are in the crowded city of Rafah.
Netanyahu has little choice but to continue the war until those remaining Hamas fighters in Rafah are killed or scattered. Anything less and Hamas will claim a great "victory." It won't matter if the rest of the world laughs at Hamas. The Palestinians will believe it and continue to support the terrorists.
The attack on Rafah will be the bloodiest battle of the war. About 1.2 million Palestinian civilians are crammed into a city that had a pre-war population of 350,000. Hamas fighters are no doubt well entrenched in the most densely populated civilian sections of Rafah, hoping Israel kills so many civilians the United States will withdraw all support.
Netanyahu doesn't care what the U.S. thinks or what the rest of the world thinks. He has his own goals, his own agenda, his own timetable. This single-mindedness will bring Israel victory.
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