Gaining Support: Results of Netanyahu’s Visit to the United States
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an important visit to the United States, which began on July 22, 2024 and ended with his departure on July 28, 2024. The visit included delivering a speech to a joint session of Congress, as well as meeting with many American officials, led by current President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for the upcoming presidential election, as well as former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump. This comes at a time when he seeks to strengthen Israel’s relations with its closest allies, especially as he faces increasing pressure to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. On the domestic political level, Netanyahu also faces declining popularity, which prompted him to use this visit as an opportunity to portray himself as a global statesman, welcomed by lawmakers and leaders of Israel’s closest ally and one of the world’s major superpowers.
In addition, Netanyahu’s visit was fraught with American challenges; it comes at a moment of intense political turmoil in the United States, specifically after President Joe Biden announced the end of his election campaign and his exit from the presidential race. However, before leaving Israel, Netanyahu stated that “regardless of who the American people choose as their next president, Israel remains America’s indispensable ally in the Middle East,” in an attempt to attract the sympathy of the American people and leadership.
Complex Circumstances
Netanyahu’s speech to Congress comes at a risky time in both Israeli and American contexts, which can be summarized as follows:
1- Biden’s exit from the presidential race: Netanyahu arrived in Washington hours after President Biden announced his withdrawal from the race for a second term, and his endorsement of his Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. Harris has been careful not to publicly deviate from Biden’s strong support for Israel, but she was among the first senior administration officials to speak decisively about civilian casualties, questioning the way Israel has waged its war against Hamas, and clearly expressing concern about the scale of destruction in Gaza.
2- Escalating calls for a hostage deal: After more than a month and a half since Biden outlined the broad lines of an agreement that would release hostages in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza, Netanyahu and senior officials in his government have publicly opposed some of the terms of Biden’s proposal. However, American officials say the prime minister is willing to commit to the terms of the deal if an agreement is reached, but they see that the points of contention have shifted from the duration of the ceasefire to operational control over parts of Gaza, including the Philadelphia Corridor that connects Egypt to the Gaza Strip.
Based on this, the American administration was hoping to use his visit to convince him to accept the conditions they believe Hamas might also find acceptable, as well as pushing for specific steps to begin the path of a two-state solution, especially as the visit coincided with reports of new deaths among the hostages, in addition to the continued increase in Palestinian civilian casualties, which is approaching 40,000 Palestinians killed.
On the other hand, many Israelis accused Netanyahu of obstructing this deal, fearing the possibility of it causing the collapse of his right-wing government, against the background of threats from extreme right-wing parties he relies on in his ruling coalition to withdraw if he agrees to terms they consider surrender to Hamas.
3- American division over US-Israeli relations: Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, in response to the invitation extended by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, represents an uncomfortable moment for Democrats who remain divided in their views on the relationship between the United States and Israel, an influential topic for many voters four months before the presidential election. The Israeli war in Gaza has caused a severe division within the American street, where it sparked protests and resulted in arrests on university campuses.
For his part, Senator Bernie Sanders condemned Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, and called for condemning the policies of Netanyahu’s government in Gaza and the West Bank for rejecting the two-state solution. He also pointed out that “his extreme right-wing government should not receive another cent of American taxpayer support to continue the inhumane destruction of Gaza.”
4- Escalating dispute between Netanyahu and American Democrats: Throughout his previous visits to Washington, Netanyahu has not hesitated to criticize Democratic administrations, especially in 2015, when he used a speech before both houses of Congress to try to influence support for the Iranian nuclear deal, concluded by former President Barack Obama, which he condemned as a “bad and dangerous deal,” as he described it. This angered American administration officials at the time, and even caused a meeting between the leaders of the two countries not to take place.
Netanyahu’s recent visit reveals more cracks and divisions; where some Democrats planned to boycott his speech before his visit. Kamala Harris refused to preside over the joint session of Congress, citing scheduling conflicts, according to one of her aides, who explained that her absence should not be interpreted as a change in her commitment to Israel’s security, especially since she met with Netanyahu at the White House the day after the speech. However, on the other hand, Harris’s approach remains a departure from the tradition of the US Vice President attending the rare occasions when foreign leaders deliver speeches to the US Congress, which Mike Johnson used to criticize Harris, describing her behavior as “disgraceful.” On the other hand, some lawmakers boycotting the speech planned to spend their time talking with families of the hostages, who traveled with Netanyahu to the United States.
5- Netanyahu’s quest for American political support: The Israeli Prime Minister aimed to use his speech to Congress to strengthen American support for Israel’s continued fight against Hamas and other adversaries, even as the Biden administration urges him to focus on reaching a deal to end the devastating war that has lasted more than nine months in Gaza. Netanyahu said before leaving Israel: “It is important for Israel’s enemies to know that America and Israel stand together today, tomorrow, and always.”
Despite Netanyahu receiving a warm welcome from Republican lawmakers, who arranged for his speech in the House chamber, making him the first foreign leader to address a joint session of Congress four times, surpassing Winston Churchill, he still faces resentment from the Democratic administration for his failure to end the prolonged war in Gaza. However, analysts see that Netanyahu may be relying on the war to divert attention from the political difficulties he faces, or perhaps delaying reaching an agreement until the internal turmoil in the United States ends and the next president is chosen.
Accordingly, Netanyahu was keen to meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as meeting with leaders of the Evangelical Christian community in the United States, and leaders of the local Jewish community, hoping to secure their political support for his plan in Gaza. Not to mention his eagerness to meet Donald Trump, who is considered one of Israel’s strongest supporters.
6- American administration’s rejection of the war’s long duration: Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and the issue of supporting the establishment of an independent Palestinian state are constant points of contention between Israeli governments and Democratic administrations. On one hand, a majority of Israeli parliament members voted to reject the establishment of a Palestinian state and classify UNRWA as a terrorist organization. On the other hand, Biden has become more critical of Israel’s war in Gaza and Israel’s settlement policies, to the point of withholding some American ammunition from Israel, amid concerns about more civilian casualties in Gaza. The current American administration sees that Israel has finished achieving its stated goal in the war, and therefore its continuation is considered excessive, so it usually demands Netanyahu to end the war.
7- Deterioration of Netanyahu’s domestic popularity: This trip is the first Netanyahu has made abroad since the outbreak of the war; where he faces internal complaints of avoiding reaching a ceasefire agreement and releasing hostages in order to stay in power. While many experts see that Netanyahu was most likely thinking that if he gave a strong speech, it might revive his declining base of Israeli supporters at home, who have always admired his oratory skills abroad in the past, and therefore this visit is important in clarifying to his domestic front that he is a statesman, unlike his political rivals.
Affirming the Alliance
The main and declared goal of Netanyahu’s visit was to deliver a speech to a joint session of Congress, but the visit involved meetings with US administration officials, with the aim of making progress in obtaining more American support for his war in Gaza. Therefore, the most prominent results of this visit can be addressed as follows:
1- Continued divisions over Netanyahu’s speech to Congress: After dozens of Democratic lawmakers along with many Jewish members of Congress planned not to attend Netanyahu’s speech in protest of his government’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, the speech was met with warm applause inside Congress by Republican members, despite former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi describing it as “the worst performance by any foreign figure invited to address the US Congress.”
At the popular level, the visit sparked a wave of protests in the nation’s capital, to the extent that police suppressed protesters from the “Jewish Voice for Peace” organization, who organized a sit-in in front of the Congress building before the speech began, protesting President Joe Biden’s continued military support for Israel.
2- Intensifying pressure on Netanyahu to reach a hostage deal: The first hours of Netanyahu’s visit witnessed a series of small meetings with families of hostages, where he tried to convince them of progress in the negotiation process on prisoner exchange for the remaining hostages as part of a ceasefire agreement, but he defended the delay on the grounds of obtaining better terms. At the same time, Netanyahu warned them that the way to reach the agreement would be through continuing to put pressure on Hamas, even as some hostage families urged Netanyahu to conclude the agreement as soon as possible. On the other hand, families of some hostages pressured the Biden administration to pressure Netanyahu to conclude an agreement, by holding a protest vigil at the National Mall, demanding Netanyahu reach an agreement with Hamas.
During his speech to Congress, Netanyahu attacked critics of Israel’s war in Gaza, stating “The war in Gaza could end tomorrow if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and returns all hostages. But if they don’t do that, Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’s military capabilities and end their rule in Gaza and return all hostages to their homes.”
3- US administration officials demanding Netanyahu take steps to end the war: Biden’s strong support for Israel has angered many left-wing activists, whose support Democrats may need if they want to win the presidential election in November, especially in swing states. Based on this, we have seen great interest in the position Harris might take towards Israel if she replaced Biden in the White House, who previously announced her support for Israel’s right to defend itself in the early months of the conflict, but began to express more criticism publicly by the end of 2023, calling on Israeli forces to make more efforts to prevent civilian suffering.
During her meeting with Netanyahu at the White House, Harris revealed her serious concerns about casualties in Gaza, and told Netanyahu that how Israel defends itself is important to the US administration, but she also stressed the need to find a path to a two-state solution. Following their bilateral meeting, Harris stated that “we cannot allow ourselves to be numbed to the suffering, and I will not be silent,” adding: “Let’s get the deal done so we can reach a ceasefire to end the war. Let’s bring the hostages home, and let’s provide the relief that the Palestinian people desperately need.”
For his part, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged that there are many gaps between the American and Israeli administrations on the future of the war in Gaza, against the background of his press statements about the meeting between the leaders of the two countries, in which they discussed the urgent need for an agreement to release hostages, the possibility of the conflict extending to Lebanon, the threat of Iran, and the need to reach compromises in peace talks.
4- Trump employing Netanyahu’s visit to affirm his support for Israel: Netanyahu tried to get closer to the Republicans, especially presidential candidate Donald Trump, particularly in light of the results of recent opinion polls, which revealed his lead over Harris so far, despite Trump’s campaign team not mentioning whether he would continue to support the $3 billion weapons package that the United States agrees to for Israel each year.
Although Trump does not focus on civilian casualties, his position on Gaza is somewhat similar to Biden’s, he wants the war to end quickly, and he wants to reach an agreement that brings the hostages home. But he tried to exploit the political rift between Israel and the current Democratic administration during his meeting with Netanyahu in Florida; Trump criticized his rival Harris, telling reporters that she “does not respect Israel,” adding: “I actually don’t know how a Jewish person could vote for her, but that’s up to them,” which indicates Trump’s use of this meeting as an opportunity to present himself as an ally and statesman, to intensify efforts by Republicans to portray themselves as the party most loyal to Israel.
5- Announcing Netanyahu’s vision for the Gaza Strip after the war: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined the broad lines of the Gaza plan after the war during his speech to Congress, which he indicated is summarized in making the Strip demilitarized and “free of extremism led by Palestinians who do not seek to destroy Israel,” as he put it, noting his country’s absolute refusal to allow Hamas to return to power, not to mention his non-acceptance of any role for the Palestinian Authority in the Strip, but only referred to the need for a “Palestinian administration run by civilians who do not seek to destroy Israel.”
He also clarified that his country does not intend to resettle the residents of the Gaza Strip, and did not address finding a path leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state, which he and his partners in the extreme right-wing coalition strongly opposed, even with the Biden administration urging Israel to make concessions on this issue, adding that “the next generation of Palestinians must learn how to live side by side with Jews,” calling for de-radicalizing Palestinians in Gaza, compared to what happened in Japan and Germany after World War II.
6- Calling for the establishment of a Middle Eastern alliance against Iran: Netanyahu tried to appeal to American public opinion and politicians by focusing on the idea that Iran is the common enemy of both countries, under the pretext that Iran wants to impose “extremist Islam” on the world, and that it sees the United States as its biggest enemy because it is “the guardian of Western civilization and the greatest power in the world.” In one of many references to Iran, the Israeli Prime Minister claimed that the axis of terrorism led by Iran threatens the United States, Israel, and the Arab world, by using its allies in various parts of the Middle East, including Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
7- Israeli pressure to ensure American military support: The delegation accompanying the Israeli Prime Minister distributed a list among lawmakers and senior officials, especially Republicans who hold the majority in Congress, including weapons systems that Israel wants to accelerate obtaining.
The fact that Israel is now pushing towards obtaining weapons indicates that it is trying to consolidate transfer operations and enhance its stockpiles before the American elections in November, especially since it is still unclear how Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump might handle such requests if elected. But Israel has motives driving it to seek immediate approval from the current administration, which has consistently supported its military objectives against Hamas and Hezbollah.
In conclusion, Netanyahu sought through his visit to the United States to obtain more American support, and work to mobilize members of Congress behind accelerating arms shipments to end his military operations more quickly; he was promoting that Israel’s war against Hamas is in fact a larger war against Iran, which implicitly means that he was waging this war on behalf of the United States. It is noteworthy that Netanyahu did not try in his speech to Congress to accept even part of the responsibility for his government’s failure to prevent the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation. Despite his intensive efforts to gain more American support, and employ this support in the face of his declining domestic popularity, there remains a state of political uncertainty about how the next American president will deal with it.
