Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to stand on the podium in the US House of Representatives at two o'clock in the afternoon, on Wednesday, to raise the need for continued support for Israel, to the listening ears of members of Congress, both representatives and senators, who are competing to see who supports Israel more than the other.

Knowing that Netanyahu will say well-known and sweet words that have been repeated hundreds of times before, all Republicans, and dozens of Democratic members, will act and show enthusiasm for what he says as if they are hearing his words for the first time, interrupting his demonstrations with successive pauses of applause.

According to the White House, US President Joe Biden will receive Netanyahu - whom Biden has refrained from inviting to the White House since his election in December 2022 due to Biden’s objection to the judicial reforms proposed by Netanyahu - and will receive Netanyahu on Monday, July 22, with a rare warm welcome, especially since the president The American finds himself in a weak and increasingly critical position, and at a moment when his chances of winning the upcoming November 5 elections against his rival, former President Donald Trump, have declined significantly, while the number of those calling for him from his Democratic Party to withdraw from the electoral race is increasing.

It is noteworthy that House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican from Louisiana), who issued the original invitation to Netanyahu in response to the International Criminal Court’s statement that it would issue an arrest warrant against Netanyahu for his war crimes in Gaza, ostensibly asked Netanyahu to “speak so that he could thank the Americans.” To support Israel in its war with Hamas.

Johnson had to persuade Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Jewish Democrat from New York, who had stated in a speech to the Senate last March that “Netanyahu is failing as a leader, and he must resign and go to new elections” to participate in extending the invitation to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu's mission is not only limited to thanking America, but also to address the deep dissatisfaction among Democrats and in the Biden White House regarding the way he managed the devastating war on Gaza, and the almost complete destruction of Gaza.

US President Biden announced that he had stopped one shipment of 2,000-pound bomb munitions, which Biden wanted Israel not to use against places crowded with displaced people in Rafah, noting that the Biden administration had shipped hundreds of tons of these and other munitions, which angered Netanyahu and his Republican supporters.

Speaking this week to Jewish Republicans at the party's convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Johnson explained that one of the reasons he asked Netanyahu to speak was to adjust the Democrats while Republicans compete for Jewish votes and support.

"I said, 'If Chuck Schumer doesn't want to come, it's up to him,'" Johnson said bragged, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

It is noteworthy that the last time Netanyahu spoke before Congress in 2015, it was also to respond to the policy favored by a Democratic president and his party. The Speaker of the House at the time, Republican John Boehner, timed the announcement of his call (without consulting Democrats) to coincide with the day after then-President Barack Obama explained his policy toward Iran in his State of the Union address.

A month or so later, when Netanyahu spoke, nearly 60 Democrats boycotted him, not necessarily because they felt Obama's policies were beyond criticism, but because they saw Netanyahu's collusion with Boehner to rebuke Obama in the US parliament as disrespectful.

This time, prominent Democrats are already saying they will boycott, but this time it's all about politics: They object to Netanyahu's conduct in the war, which they say is at least partly responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians and the displacement of nearly all of Gaza's 2.2 million residents. ) and injuring hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and deliberately starving the Palestinians, as a war strategy.

Among these progressive leaders are Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington, who describe Netanyahu and his government as fascist.

Some progressive Democrats - who believe the "progressive squad" - are rumored to be planning protests from the hall. Johnson told the Republican Jewish Coalition that he would add additional censors to arrest anyone who protests. Johnson expected the Democrats to back down from any arrests, and noted that Johnson said that law enforcement was too harsh with the rebels who invaded Congress on January 6, 2021 to cancel the elections, and that he would use the same and stricter standards against those who would oppose Netanyahu.

Netanyahu plans to meet Biden on Monday, according to unofficial reports. He will also meet US Vice President Kamala Harris, who will not be able to attend Wednesday's speech because she will be campaigning. It was also reportedly on Netanyahu's agenda to participate in a memorial service for the late Senator Joe Lieberman, who died in March.

It is natural that the war track will be at the top of his agenda with Biden. American officials say that the two sides are closer than ever to a temporary ceasefire that will see the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the release of Palestinians held by Israel.

It is believed that 120 detainees (out of 250) are still in Gaza - and not all of them are alive - from those who were detained on October 7, 2023.

Netanyahu is under pressure from the families of the hostages to make the deal, and from his army to leave Gaza so he can focus on the north, where tensions are rising on the Lebanese border with Hezbollah — but he is also under pressure from right-wingers in his government not to leave. Gaza until Hamas is well and truly destroyed.

According to the Jewish Telegraph Agency JTA, insiders say the Israelis will make clear that the Americans “must view the war holistically — it was fought, they say, on seven fronts, all with funding and support from Iran: in Gaza, on the border with Lebanon.” , with Iranian-backed proxies in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen — where Houthi militants have just fired a missile at Tel Aviv that killed one person and wounded several others — and in the West Bank and inside Israel, where Iranian actors are seeking to foment unrest.

Netanyahu also arrives in Washington in the wake of a Knesset vote that flatly rejects the establishment of a Palestinian state, even as part of a negotiated settlement with Israel — a position likely to anger an administration that has made the two-state solution a central focus of its Middle East policy.

JTE says Netanyahu may remain in Israel if the war goes one of two ways: if there is a ceasefire agreement for the hostages that needs to be managed, or if the war escalates, which is not unlikely after the deadly attack that occurred in Tel Aviv before dawn. Friday".

Another factor is whether Biden will still be around — and he shows no sign of giving in to the growing number of Democrats, including Schumer and Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, two close Jewish allies, who say he should drop out of the race: Friday He said he plans to resume his campaign next week. But there is a (small) possibility that his meeting with Netanyahu will be postponed until Tuesday; On Thursday, Biden tested positive for Covid-19.

Netanyahu will score two rare and unwanted targets: pro- and anti-Israel protesters.

Anti-war activists, many of them anti-Zionist, said they would bus protesters in from all over the country. Israeli activists who believe Netanyahu mismanaged the war, and their allies — who have portrayed themselves as pro-Israel — are also planning protests.