Netanyahu accepts invitation to address joint session of Congress

No date for the speech has been settled so far, but it is expected to take place within the next eight weeks. Congressional leaders originally offered the date of June 13, but Netanyahu has not agreed so far, because it falls on a Jewish holiday.

By Misty Severi

Published: June 3, 2024 10:23pm

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accepted an invitation from the United States' congressional leadership to deliver an address to both chambers of Congress this summer.

The four congressional leaders invited the prime minister on Friday to come give a speech on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With Netanyahu's acceptance, it will mark Netanyahu's first speech to Congress since 2015. The speech is expected to draw condemnation from some liberal lawmakers who have criticized Israel's response to its war with Hamas. In 2015, some Democrats skipped the speech in protest.

"I am thrilled by the privilege to represent Israel before both houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those seeking our lives to the representatives of the American people and the entire world," Netanyahu said in a statement posted to X.

The acceptance comes days after President Joe Biden said Israel had proposed a ceasefire agreement that would stop the war for six weeks, during which Israel would withdraw some of its forces and Hamas would release some prisoners.

Biden also claimed Israel and Hamas would negotiate a lasting peace between the two groups. However, Netanyahu has rejected this characterization, claiming there would be no permanent ceasefire as long as Hamas exists.

“Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed," the prime minister’s office said in a statement. The destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.”