Netanyahu justifies Gaza war - arrests in Congress
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu sets record with fourth speech before US Congress, elicits bipartisan applause
While thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered on "Capitol Hill" in Washington D.C., Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel's military actions in the US Congress, following the October 7th attack. He countered accusations that Israel intentionally targeted civilians in the Gaza War. "The Israeli army dropped millions of flyers, millions of SMS, and conducted hundreds of thousands of phone calls to prevent civilian harm in Gaza," Netanyahu stated.
Simultaneously, the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas "did everything in their power to endanger Palestinian civilians," Netanyahu claimed. They had reportedly fired rockets from schools, hospitals, and mosques. He accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
Netanyahu presents wounded soldiers
Netanyahu also argued that relatively few civilian casualties had occurred in the Gaza War compared to wars in residential areas in other countries. Particularly low civilian losses were reported in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. This contradicts the figures from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, which reported over 39,000 deaths on the Palestinian side since the conflict began on October 7th - including both fighters and civilians.
Netanyahu secured bipartisan applause several times during his speech. For instance, when he spoke about a woman in the room who had been held captive by Hamas, and then introduced injured Israeli soldiers present in the room, some of whom had lost limbs. The bipartisan applause provides politically significant images for Netanyahu's home audience in Israel - while the US and the world were mainly anticipating Joe Biden's speech that evening, detailing his withdrawal from the US Presidential race.
However, US Democrats denied applause when Republicans clapped, remained seated when they stood up, and there were few "Boo" chants.
Multiple arrests from the dais
Several hecklers disrupted Netanyahu's speech from the dais of the plenary hall, and they were promptly arrested and removed, according to the Capitol Police. Five arrests were reported. Thousands of demonstrators gathered around the Parliament building. At a Palestinian rally, speakers called on the US government from Joe Biden onwards to completely halt military aid to Israel. They accused Israel of committing "genocide" in Gaza and charged Biden, his Vice President Kamala Harris, and the US Congress leadership with complicity.
Netanyahu cursed the protesters during his speech. "You are on the side of evil," he said to the few kilometers away demonstrators. "You are on the side of Hamas. You are on the side of rapists and murderers," Netanyahu added, looking directly at the demonstrators, if any were present. Netanyahu also criticized the connections between Hamas and Iran, addressing the protesters: "You have officially become useful idiots of Iran."
The Israeli Prime Minister criticized that many demonstrators had no idea what they were talking about. "Some of these demonstrators hold signs that say 'Gays for Gaza.' They could just as well hold signs that say 'Chickens for KFC,' for Kentucky Fried Chicken, he joked. For his derogatory homophobic remark, he received - unlike for other parts of the text - no applause, but stony silence.
Breaking Churchill's Ancient Record
Netanyahu was not rattled by such moments. He had many spots where he captured the audience. One of the live commentators of the "New York Times" wrote: "Whatever one may think of his views, Netanyahu's flowing, colloquial English and his rhetorical flair are a great asset. Volodymyr Zelensky would die to give a speech as good as that."
The Israeli Prime Minister also spoke about his visions for the future of Gaza. The 74-year-old said that Gaza should have a civil administration, led by Palestinians who do not have the destruction of Israel as their goal. However, a comprehensive security control over Gaza is needed for the foreseeable future. Regarding the prospects of negotiations for the release of hostages held by the radical Islamic Hamas, he said, "I am optimistic that these efforts will lead to success."
What stood out particularly were the numerous references to Iran, which were trapped in the US. The "New York Times" summarized the speech as follows: "Netanyahu defended (...) energetically the Israeli military operation in Gaza. He praised the Israeli-American alliance and tried to depict the war as a battle between Good and Evil, Civilization and Barbarism." He also portrayed the fight against Hamas as part of a larger conflict between Iran and the US.
According to the New York Medium, Netanyahu set a record with his fourth speech before the US Congress. For over eighty years, this record had been held by a certain Winston Churchill with three appearances before the Chamber.
Netanyahu's fourth speech before the US Congress, breaking a record previously held by Winston Churchill, was met with bipartisan applause despite protests from Palestinian supporters outside. During his speech, Netanyahu defended Israel's actions in the Gaza War, claiming that the Israeli army had taken measures to avoid civilian harm, while Hamas intentionally endangered Palestinian civilians. He also presented wounded soldiers and argued that the number of civilian casualties in the Gaza War was lower compared to other conflicts.
