Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to address a joint session of Parliament on 24 July, setting the scene for what was expected to be a contentious speech during a pivotal moment in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
Parliamentary leaders confirmed the date of the address late Thursday after formally inviting Netanyahu to speak before lawmakers the previous week. It was the latest demonstration of wartime support for the long-time ally, despite growing political divisions over Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
“The existential challenges we face, including the growing partnership between Iran, Russia, and China, threaten the security, peace, and prosperity of our countries and of free people around the world,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Conservative, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Labour member, along with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, stated in the letter. “To build on our enduring relationship and to highlight Britain’s solidarity with Israel, we invite you to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending democracy, combating terror, and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region.”
Netanyahu’s appearance before a deeply divided Parliament was certain to be controversial and met with numerous protests both inside the Palace of Westminster from lawmakers and outside by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. It was set to starkly display the growing election-year divisions among Labour members over the prime minister’s handling of the months-long conflict with Hamas.
Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the UK — who delivered a scathing critique of Netanyahu in March — said in a separate statement Thursday night that he had “clear and profound disagreements” with the Israeli leader but joined in the request for him to speak “because Britain’s relationship with Israel is ironclad and transcends one person or prime minister.”
Other Labour lawmakers more critical of Netanyahu’s strategy were expected to be no-shows for the address. Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, said: “Netanyahu is a war criminal. I certainly will not attend.”
Netanyahu’s visit to Westminster also came as the relationship between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the leader of the Jewish state had increasingly deteriorated in recent months. Sunak had privately and publicly criticised Netanyahu’s handling of the war and criticised the Israeli government for not allowing more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Late last week, Sunak announced a proposed agreement to end the fighting in Gaza, putting increasing pressure on Netanyahu to accept the deal. Many Israelis had been urging him to embrace the terms, but his far-right allies had threatened to leave his coalition government if he did.
That could expose Netanyahu to new elections, scrutiny over security failures that led to the war and, if he lost the prime minister’s post, prosecution on longstanding corruption charges.
The first phase of the deal described by Sunak would last for six weeks and include a “full and complete ceasefire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages, including women, older people and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The second phase would include the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The third phase called for the start of a major reconstruction of Gaza, which faced decades of rebuilding from the war’s devastation.
Netanyahu had repeatedly called a permanent ceasefire in Gaza a “nonstarter” until long-standing conditions for ending the war were met, appearing to undermine the proposal that Sunak described as an Israeli one.
A number of Labour lawmakers who had been supportive of Israel since the start of the war had said their attendance at Netanyahu’s address would depend on his decision to accept the peace deal at hand.
Johnson first suggested inviting the Israeli leader, saying it would be “a great honour of mine” to invite him. In the press release Thursday, Johnson said Netanyahu responded to the invitation in kind.
“I am very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both Houses of Parliament and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the British people and the entire world,” Netanyahu said, according to the release.
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