Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver a speech before the US Congress in both houses on July 24, according to what the leaders of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives and Senate announced yesterday, Thursday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell explained in a statement that Netanyahu’s visit symbolizes the enduring relationship between the United States and Israel, and will give him the opportunity to share his government’s vision of defending democracy, combating terrorism, and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region. According to him.

Netanyahu's visit to the United States comes amid increasing pressure on Israel to reach an agreement with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to end the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which has caused increasing diplomatic isolation for Israel due to the high death toll in the Strip.

American media reported that Netanyahu would respond to the invitation of congressional leaders to deliver a speech before a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate on June 13, but the Prime Minister’s Office denied the validity of this information.

Speech date

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed that the date of Netanyahu's speech before Congress has not been finally set, but it will definitely not be on June 13 due to this date conflicting with a Jewish holiday.

Netanyahu is under severe criticism due to the high number of civilian casualties in the ongoing war on Gaza, which has led to escalating tensions with the administration of President Joe Biden.

Last week, Biden presented an "Israeli plan" to end the aggression on the Gaza Strip in three stages, including a ceasefire, the release of all detainees, and the reconstruction of the destroyed Palestinian Strip.

Netanyahu's office confirmed that the war on the Gaza Strip will continue until all of Israel's goals are achieved, including, as he says, the destruction of Hamas' military capabilities.

Netanyahu's invitation

For his part, Johnson announced last week that Democratic and Republican congressional leaders had invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to deliver a speech to US lawmakers within weeks.

Johnson pointed out that the invitation, which was signed by the four leaders of both the Democratic and Republican parties in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, expresses the United States’ solidarity with Israel in “fighting terrorism.”

In a separate statement, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated that he participated in extending the invitation to Netanyahu.

Schumer pointed out that although there are clear and deep differences with the Israeli Prime Minister, which were expressed either in private or public conversations, the United States’ relationship with Israel is based on strong foundations, and is not limited to one individual or the Prime Minister, and therefore he decided to participate in I invited him to speak, he said.