Yesterday, Friday, the four senior leaders in the House of Representatives and the Senate called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver a speech before a joint meeting of Congress, both representatives and Senate, despite the political divisions over the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said: ) and others from the Senate: “We stand with the State of Israel in your fight against terrorism, especially since Hamas continues to hold American and Israeli citizens hostage and its leaders endanger regional stability,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote in the letter to Netanyahu, which was issued on Friday.

“In order to build on our enduring relationship and highlight America’s solidarity with Israel, we call on you to share the Israeli government’s vision of defending democracy, combating terrorism, and establishing a just and lasting peace in common sense,” the letter said.

The date of the speech was not included in the invitation.

Divisions over the war

The call comes at a time when the debate has turned in recent months about American support for Israel, a long-time ally, amid its war on Gaza, and coinciding with the US President’s call to end the war.

Some Democrats called on President Biden to impose conditions or cut off military aid to Israel because of its behavior in Gaza, arguing that Israel violated international humanitarian law. Some 36,000 Palestinians have been killed as a direct result of the Israeli war, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, while hundreds of thousands of Gazans face devastating famine.

In remarks from the White House on Friday announcing that Israel had presented a new ceasefire proposal, Biden acknowledged divisions over the war and said the Palestinians had “suffered absolute hell in this war.”

"I know that this is an issue about which people in this country feel deep and passionate convictions. And so do I. It is one of the most difficult and complex problems in the world," he said.

President Biden also claimed that Israel had accomplished one of its main goals in the war, and that “Hamas can no longer carry out another October 7,” referring to attacks launched by Hamas across Israel last year that left more than 1,200 dead, including 311. soldier..

Last March, Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the United States, called Netanyahu “a major obstacle to peace” and said he had “lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over Israel’s best interests.” Schumer, who has long supported Israel, also called on her government to hold new elections.

“He was too willing to tolerate civilian casualties in Gaza, which pushes support for Israel around the world to historic lows,” the New York Democrat said in a speech on the Senate floor. “Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah.”

Days later, Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, said he planned to invite Netanyahu to address Congress. Schumer said in a statement that "Israel has no stronger ally than the United States" and that he "will always welcome the opportunity for the Prime Minister of Israel to address Congress in a bipartisan manner."

Schumer recently reiterated to reporters that the US relationship with Israel is "unwavering and goes beyond any prime minister or president."

US officials, including those who have criticized Netanyahu, jumped to his defense earlier this month after the International Criminal Court announced it was seeking arrest warrants against the prime minister and three Hamas leaders on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. If an arrest warrant is issued against Netanyahu, he could risk arrest if he travels to a country that recognizes the court. The United States does not do that.

Some progressives in the United States welcomed the move to obtain a court order. Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat from Wisconsin, said he would be more than happy to show the ICC the way to the House floor to issue this order. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, said the ICC was “doing its job.”

“Democratically elected officials can commit war crimes,” Sanders said on the Senate floor. “We can only apply international law when it is appropriate.”

The House of Representatives is working on legislation that would include sanctions on the International Criminal Court in response.

Sanders recently told CNN in an interview that he would not attend Netanyahu's speech, which he described as a "disgraceful and terrible idea." A number of other Democrats also expressed their opposition.

"I don't think it's constructive for Netanyahu to give a speech, to give a joint speech at this moment," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, told reporters.

Before Memorial Day, Jeffries, also from New York, said the idea that Democrats were divided on the issue was "exaggerated." Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, added that if Netanyahu is invited to speak before Congress, "we will respect that."

Netanyahu last addressed a joint meeting of Congress in 2015, where he sought to convince lawmakers to torpedo negotiations between the Obama administration and Iran over the regime's nuclear program.