Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 23
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Tuesday denied American media reports that he will address the US Congress on June 13, amid mounting pressure to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas.
Netanyahu’s office told Israeli media the date of his speech to Congress had “not been finalised”, but it would not be on June 13 because it interferes with a Jewish holiday.
The date had been reported by Punchbowl News and Politico.
Speculation about the visit comes with Netanyahu facing intense criticism over the civilian death toll in the war in Gaza, which has ratcheted tension with President Joe Biden’s administration.
Biden on Friday presented what he labelled an Israeli three-phase plan that would end the conflict, free all hostages and lead to the reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian territory without Hamas in power.
Netanyahu’s office stressed that the war sparked by the October 7 attack would continue until all of Israel’s “goals are achieved,” including the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.
Progressives including Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who votes with the Democrats, have condemned Netanyahu over his handling of the military response and vowed to snub any speech in the United States by the right-wing leader.
“Israel, of course, had the right to defend itself against the horrific Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, but it did not, and does not, have the right to go to war against the entire Palestinian people,” he added, calling Netanyahu a “war criminal”.
Source: Reuters
