‘Defiant’ Netanyahu faces US Congress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to deliver a landmark speech to the the United States Congress this week, a visit that has now been thrown off balance by President Joe Biden’s decision on Sunday not to seek re-election.

Israel’s longest-serving premier will on Wednesday become the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of the two chambers four times — pulling ahead of Britain’s Winston Churchill on three.

But analysts say the Gaza war since the 7 October Hamas attacks has created worrying tensions between Israel and the United States, its main military and diplomatic backer, with Washington pushing Israel to seek a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Netanyauhu’s office has announced that the two men would meet on Tuesday.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog was one of the first world leaders to react to Biden’s announcement Sunday that he would not be seeking re-election as president. He thanked Biden “for his friendship and steadfast support for the Israeli people”.

Washington fears a backlash from the mounting civilian toll in the Gaza Strip, while protests in Israel by families of hostages taken by Hamas are also causing headaches for Netanyahu.

Biden and some Israeli ministers say a deal negotiated through Qatar, Egyptian and US mediators is possible. A plan outlined in May proposed a six-week ceasefire when some Israeli hostages would be swapped for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, using an American football image, said Friday that negotiators were “inside the 10-yard line and driving toward the goal line”.

Hamas has accused Netanyahu of seeking to block a deal however and Blinken said he wants to “bring the agreement over the finish line” when Netanyahu is in Washington.

Israel has intensified its attacks on Gaza in recent weeks and Netanyahu has insisted that only piling on military pressure can free the hostages and beat Hamas.

“This double pressure is not delaying the deal — it is advancing it,” Netanyahu told troops in Gaza on Thursday.

Publicly, Biden has voiced strong support for Israel. But he expressed concern over an offensive on the southern city of Rafah in May and for a while suspended deliveries of heavy bombs to Israel. Supplies of 2,000-pound bombs remain embargoed.