Netanyahu defends war as protesters gather outside US Congress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. lawmakers that “our enemies are your enemies” in a historic speech to Congress aimed at rallying support for the war against Hamas in Gaza but marred by pro-Palestinian protests inside and outside the Capitol.

“When we fight Iran, we fight the most radical and deadly enemy of the United States of America,” Netanyahu said.

“Our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory,” he added.

The Israeli leader received a warm welcome from mostly Republican politicians as he addressed a joint session of Congress, his fourth.

But the growing political divisions over the Gaza war were underscored by dozens of Democratic members of Congress who were deliberately absent and thousands of protesters in the streets.

Crowds gathered outside a Capitol stage decorated with banners, including one declaring the Israeli leader a “wanted war criminal,” a reference to an arrest warrant sought by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

Police said five people were arrested inside the Capitol for trying to disrupt Mr Netanyahu’s speech.

Addressing the protesters, Mr Netanyahu said: “You have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.”

In one of his many references to Iran, the Israeli prime minister claimed that an “axis of terror” threatened the United States, Israel and the Arab world, describing it as a “clash of barbarism against civilizations.”

The term refers to what Iran describes as the “axis of resistance,” an alliance across the Middle East that includes the Palestinian armed group Hamas, the Lebanese group Hezbollah and the Houthis, who rule parts of Yemen.

He told Congress that Iranian-proxied forces had attacked U.S. targets, adding that Iran believed that “to truly challenge America, it must first conquer the Middle East.”

“But in the heart of the Middle East, on the path to Iran, lies a proud pro-American democracy: my country, the State of Israel.”

Speaking for more than an hour, Mr Netanyahu deflected criticism of Israel and portrayed the war in Gaza as his country’s battle for survival, in an appeal for additional US military aid.

He thanked the United States for providing Israel with “generous military assistance” for decades, adding that in return, Israel had provided the United States with vital intelligence that had “saved many lives.”

However, he called for a process of “accelerating” US military aid, saying it could hasten the end of the war in Gaza and help prevent a wider regional war.

Quoting British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s appeal to the American people during World War II, he said: “Give us the tools and we will finish the job.”

Mr. Netanyahu did not address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in detail, saying only that Israel provides enough food aid to provide each person with 3,000 calories. If Gazans are not getting food, he said, it is because “Hamas is stealing it.”

Outlining his vision for the Gaza Strip after the war, he called for a “demilitarized and deradicalized” enclave under Israeli military control.

“Gaza should have a civil administration run by Palestinians who do not seek to destroy Israel. That is not too much to ask,” he said.

He made no reference to the prospect of a possible two-state solution, which is what President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris – who is expected to replace him as the Democratic Party’s nominee – want.

Several standing ovations could not mask the fact that at least 39 lawmakers were absent during the speech.

Nearly all were Democrats, including the influential former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said it was “inappropriate” for Mr Netanyahu to go.

Ms. Harris was not present, apparently due to a scheduling conflict.

Throughout her speech, Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American member of Congress, was seen holding a sign aloft that read “guilty of genocide” and “war criminal.”

Aware that Donald Trump could return to the White House, Benjamin Netanyahu also thanked the former president for moving the American embassy to Jerusalem and for recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, a territory conquered by Israel from Syria in 1967.

The two men will meet in Florida later this week.

In Israel, families of hostages still held in Gaza gathered to condemn the speech broadcast silently from Tel Aviv’s hostage square.

After listening to the national anthem, the crowd dispersed as Mr Netanyahu continued his speech on screen.

The sound was muted, but his speech in English was broadcast with Hebrew translation subtitles.

Shortly after the speech ended, the Israeli military announced that it had recovered the bodies of two hostages, Maya Goren and Oren Goldin, in Gaza.

The news underscores the growing desperation among many hostage families to see their loved ones alive again, as months-long negotiations with Hamas over a ceasefire and a deal to release the hostages have yet to bear fruit.

The prime minister’s speech to Congress comes nine months after the start of Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 39,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.