Netanyahu to address US Congress as some lawmakers call for a boycott

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will today address a joint session of the US Congress, a speech that comes with both countries’ political futures in flux, no end in sight for the war in Gaza, and the prospect of a widening conflict in the Middle East.

In Washington, attention is focused on a reshaped election, potentially leaving outgoing President Joe Biden more able to act on the world stage, the Financial Times noted.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, has been criticized in the US and Israel for not energetically pursuing a ceasefire deal, leaving Gaza in ruins. Some US lawmakers have called for a boycott of his speech in protest over Israel’s actions in Gaza, including Sen. Bernie Sanders. At the same time, a defense analyst noted in Foreign Affairs, “Israel now appears closer than ever to a second, even larger war with Hezbollah.”