Gaza War: Hostage families: Netanyahu’s US speech is political theater

Shortly before meeting with US President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dashed hopes for an early ceasefire in Gaza with a speech to the US Congress that was accompanied by protests. Relatives of eight American-Israeli hostages criticized the appearance as “political theater,” Israeli media reported. Netanyahu rejected criticism of the actions in Gaza, to applause, especially from Republicans.

“He has failed to present new solutions or a new path forward,” the American officials said in a statement. “Most importantly, he has failed to commit to the hostage deal that is now on the table, despite calls from Israel’s senior defense and intelligence officials to do so,” they were quoted as saying. Shortly before Netanyahu’s speech, his office confirmed that he had canceled the departure of Israeli negotiators to Qatar for the indirect negotiations scheduled for today.

Sharp criticism of Netanyahu’s speech

This was “by far the worst performance by a foreign dignitary” who had the privilege of addressing the US Congress, wrote former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Platform X. The Islamist Hamas accused Netanyahu of lying. “Netanyahu’s talk of intensifying efforts to return the hostages is a blatant lie and misleads the Israeli, American and international public,” Hamas said in a statement.

In his speech, Netanyahu did not announce an agreement on a ceasefire in return for the release of the hostages, contrary to the hopes of relatives of the 115 hostages still remaining in the Gaza Strip. The departure of an Israeli delegation for the indirect negotiations in Qatar is now only expected next week, an Israeli representative confirmed. The exact date is still unclear.

USA remains optimistic

The US government is nevertheless once again optimistic and sees the negotiations in the “final phase”. “It is time to reach an agreement,” said a high-ranking US government official. There has been progress and it is assumed that the differences can be overcome. “There are some things that we need from the Israeli side, no question about it,” he said. But there are also “some important things” that are only in the hands of Hamas. He assumes that there will be a lot of movement next week.

“I will continue to work to end the war in Gaza, bring all hostages home, and bring peace and security to the Middle East,” said US President Biden. His relationship with Netanyahu is strained because of his conduct of the war. Netanyahu is accused by critics of dragging out the war for his own political gain. He governs in a coalition with ultra-religious and far-right parties that reject concessions to Hamas and threaten to blow up the government.

Five dead hostages recovered

Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers recovered the bodies of five hostages in the Gaza Strip. Among them is a 56-year-old resident of a kibbutz on the edge of the sealed-off coastal strip, the army announced. She was killed in the Hamas massacre on October 7 and her body was abducted. The others are soldiers who died that day in the fight against terrorists and whose bodies were also abducted. While the relatives learn of further dead hostages, Netanyahu is continuing “his PR tour through the USA” and “continues to put the brakes on,” the “Times of Israel” quoted the mother of one of the hostages still being held by Hamas as saying.

Netanyahu’s speech was accompanied by loud protests around the parliament building in Washington. Part of the crowd became violent, the Capitol Police said. There were reports of several arrests. At a pro-Palestinian rally, the US government was called upon to stop military aid to Israel. Israel was accused of a “genocide” in the Gaza Strip, in which Biden, Harris and the top US parliamentarians were involved, it was said. Netanyahu was called a war criminal.

Protests against Netanyahu

According to Israeli media reports, six relatives of Israeli hostages who attended Netanyahu’s speech to Congress were arrested by Capitol Police and later released. They wore yellow shirts with the words “Seal the deal now.” Hundreds of family members also gathered in Israel to watch Netanyahu’s speech. They also reacted with disappointment.

In his speech to both houses of the US Congress, Netanyahu expressed contempt for pro-Palestinian protests around the world. “An incredible number of anti-Israel protesters choose to be on the side of evil,” he said. “They are on the side of Hamas, they are on the side of rapists and murderers.” Addressing the demonstrators directly, Israel’s head of government said with reference to the links between Hamas and Iran: “You have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.” Many demonstrators have no idea what they are talking about.

Netanyahu: War will only end with victory over Hamas

Netanyahu reiterated that the war would end with a victory over Hamas. He thanked the government of US President Biden, whom he is meeting today, for its support in the war and asked for further, faster arms deliveries. “Give us the resources faster – and we will finish the job faster,” said Netanyahu. A meeting with US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is also planned. On Friday, Netanyahu will visit Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

His vision for the day after is “a demilitarized, deradicalized Gaza.” Israel does not want to repopulate the Gaza Strip, but must maintain security control there for the foreseeable future, Netanyahu said. He spoke of a civil administration by “Palestinians who do not want to destroy Israel.” For the Middle East, Netanyahu spoke of a security alliance between Israel and the USA against Iran.