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SvennoJ on 24 July 2024

Heavy security before Netanyahu speech: correspondent

Access to the Capitol is completely blocked off to unauthorised persons. Law enforcement agents have blocked off traffic about two blocks away from the Capitol, turning away pedestrians and vehicles, telling them that they cannot go through.

Earlier this week, a barricade was erected all around the Capitol campus itself. But this morning, it appears this perimeter has been enlarged.

 

Speaker Johnson and Netanyahu hold news conference before speech

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have just appeared in the halls of the Capitol for a short news conference, ahead of the Israeli leader’s speech to a joint session of Congress.

Johnson opened the briefing by reaffirming support for Israel’s war in Gaza and pledging to help Israelis “live freely and securely in their ancestral homeland”.

“Our dear ally Israel is in an existential fight for its very existence, and that fight extends to every one of its borders,” Johnson said.

“Today, the Israeli people are working to defeat Hamas, following, of course, the horrific massacre on October 7th. They’re having to ward off Hezbollah in the north. They’re having to respond Houthi attacks in Tel Aviv. And they fended off a historic watershed direct attack from Iran itself.”

He later added, “The most powerful nation in the modern world is standing with our Jewish friends and the Israeli government.”

‘Our enemies will not breach our walls today:’ Netanyahu

Netanyahu offered a few brief remarks in the halls of the US Capitol before his speech before a joint session of Congress later today.

Appearing at a podium next to House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Israeli prime minister offered warm words to the congressional leaders who invited him to address the legislature.

“Speaker Johnson, you have shown great leadership, along with the leaders of the Senate and the minority leader in the House,” Netanyahu said.

“The Congress of the United States speaks for the American people, and the American people speak for the entire world. I very much value this opportunity to address this august forum.”

Netanyahu’s speech, however, was not welcomed by all members of the US Congress, some of whom decided to boycott the appearance.

Both Johnson and Netanyahu noted that the speech fell after the Seventeenth of Tammuz, a day in the Jewish holy calendar commemorating when the Roman army breached Jerusalem’s walls two thousand years ago.

“Our enemies will not breach our walls today,” Netanyahu said.

If you want to turn back the clock to 2,000 years ago then the US has no right to exist, give the land back to the natives...



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SvennoJ on 24 July 2024

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in Washington, DC

With the death toll ever increasing in Gaza, protesters took to the streets of Washington, DC, to show their displeasure both with Israel’s military offensive — and US support for it.

Chants of “Free, free, free Palestine” broke out in front of the US Capitol, as the protesters denounced an impending address from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.








US State Department criticises Israel’s ‘terror’ label for UNRWA

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller defended the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) at a news briefing on Wednesday.

Miller was asked about the Israeli parliament’s recent decision to give preliminary approval to a measure that would label UNRWA a “terrorist” organisation.

“First, UNRWA is not a terrorist organisation, and we urge the Israeli government and the Knesset to halt the movement of this legislation,” Miller responded. “We have been clear about the important role that UNRWA plays in delivering humanitarian assistance and other critical assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and throughout the region.”

Some Israeli officials have accused the relief agency of ties to the Palestinian group Hamas — and the US itself suspended aid to UNRWA pending a United Nations investigation into the allegations.

But independent reviews have found no evidence to substantiate the allegations that UNRWA employees were involved with Hamas, and Miller said that the US continues to offer support to the agency — albeit through roundabout means, like third parties.

That’s because the US Congress has suspended aid to UNRWA through March 2025.

“The attacks that the Israeli government has levelled on UNRWA are incredibly unhelpful,” Miller added.



SvennoJ on 24 July 2024

Elon Musk attending as guest of Netanyahu:

Media reports have stated that the far-right tech billionaire Elon Musk is attending today’s speech as a guest of Netanyahu.


House member shows shirt calling for ceasefire

One House member can be seeing displaying a shirt that reads, “Seal the deal now.”

Netanyahu is wearing a pin in honour of the remaining captives held in Gaza, but he has been criticised at home for attempting to undermine a deal that could bring the war to an end in exchange for the release of the captives.


Representative Tlaib poses with man who lost more than 150 family members in Gaza

Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress and an outspoke advocate of Palestinian rights, has posted a photo of her meeting with a man who lost more than 150 relatives in Israel’s war in Gaza.

“Joining me in the chamber today is Hani Almadhoun, who has lost over 150 members of his extended family in Netanyahu’s genocide,” Tlaib said in a social media post. “After witnessing his sister forced to eat animal feed, he and his family were determined to start a soup kitchen to feed their starving neighbors.”

Numerous rights groups have alleged that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.



SvennoJ on 24 July 2024

Netanyahu thanks Congress for invitation to speak

Netanyahu has thanked US congressional leadership for inviting him to speak.

“Mr Speaker, I want to thank you for giving me the profound honour of addressing this great citadel of democracy for the fourth time,” he said.


Netanyahu says war in Gaza war between ‘barbarism and civilisation’

“This is not a clash of civilisations. It’s a clash between barbarism and civilisation,” said Netanyahu.

“It’s a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life. For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together. Because when we stand together, something very simple happens: We win, they lose.”


Netanyahu repeats false claims about some October 7 atrocities

Netanyahu has repeated dubious claims about acts by Hamas on October 7, stating that men were beheaded and babies burned alive.

Investigations have found that, while Hamas committed atrocities against civilians on October 7, little evidence has emerged to substantiate some of the most gruesome stories pushed by Israeli leaders such as Netanyahu.



Netanyahu praises captives

Netanyahu has praised captives and relatives of those held in Gaza, even while he faces accusations at home of working to sabotage a deal that would secure the release of those who remain in Gaza in exchange for an end to the war.

“I will not rest until all their loved ones are home, all of them,” he said.

Noa Argamani, one of the captives recently rescued, was among Netanyah’s guests in Congress on Wednesday.


Several relatives of captives in Gaza walk out of Netanyahu speech

Jacob Magid, a correspondent with the Times of Israel, has reported that several relatives of captives held in Gaza have walked out of Netanyahu’s speech.

“Several relatives of the hostages being held in Gaza have walked out of Netanyahu’s address to Congress,” he said in a social media post.

“The PM goes on to pledge not to rest until the hostages are home, leading the vast majority in the room to stand and applaud save for roughly a dozen or so hostage families.”



SvennoJ on 24 July 2024

Netanyahu thanks Biden for ‘heartfelt support”

The Israeli leader praised Biden for his “heartfelt support” for Israel.

“After the savage attack on October 7, he rightly called Hamas ‘sheer evil’,” he said, playing up their more than 40-year relationship. “He dispatched two aircraft carriers to the Middle East to deter a wider war, and he came to Israel to stand with us in our darkest hour, a visit that will never be forgotten.”


Netanyahu says anti-war protesters should be ‘ashamed’

Netanyahu, for whom ICC prosecutors are currently seeking an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes, has said that pro-Palestine protesters “stand with evil”.

“They stand with Hamas, they stand with rapists and murderers,” he said, adding that they should be “ashamed”.


Rashida Tlaib holds a sign reading ‘war criminal’

Representative Rashida Tlaib can be seen wearing a keffiyeh and holding aloft a sign that says “war criminal” as Netanyahu speaks.


Netanyahu slams college protestors and administrators

Netanyahu has leaned into attacks on student protestors who demonstrated against Israel’s war in Gaza.

He also blasted college administrators who resisted calls to crack down on the protests and mocked LGBTQ activists who support Palestinian rights by comparing them to chickens who support the restaurant Kentucky Fried Chicken.

“The outrageous slanders that paint Israel as racist and genocidal are meant to delegitimise Israel, to demonise the Jewish state, and to demonise Jews everywhere. And no wonder, no wonder we witnessed an appalling rise of anti-Semitism in America and around the world,” he said.



Netanyahu says majority of Americans support Israeli actions, but polling says otherwise

Netanyahu says that the majority of people in the US continue to support Israel and have not fallen for “Hamas’s lies”.

“The vast majority of Americans have not fallen for this Hamas propaganda, they continue to support Israel,” he said.

But a recent Gallup poll found that 48 percent of people in the US disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza, compared to 42 percent whom are supportive.

A May poll by Data for Progress also found that about 70 percent of all voters support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, which Netanyahu has firmly rejected.

Netanyahu says Israel going ‘beyond what international law requires’ to avoid civilian casualties

Netanyahu, quoting a US military analyst, says that Israel has gone “beyond what international law requires” to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza.

Numerous rights groups have alleged that Israel is flaunting international law and targeting civilians in Gaza, where it has systematically cut off supplies of food and water, displaced more than 90 percent of the population and wiped out entire neighbourhoods.

Media outlets have reported that Israeli forces in Gaza see large swathes of the strip as “free fire zones”, and a US doctor who volunteered in Gaza recently accused Israeli snipers of targeting Palestinian children.



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SvennoJ on 24 July 2024

Capitol police use pepper spray against protestors as Netanyahu praises Israeli soldiers

As Netanyahu praises Israeli military members as “Lions of Judah”, police have deployed pepper spray against protestors.

The Associated Press reported that thousands of protestors chanting “free, free Palestine” have approached the Capitol.

“Part of the crowd has started to become violent at First Street and Constitution Avenue, NW,” the Capitol Police said in a social media post. “The crowd failed to obey our order to move back from our police line. We are deploying pepper spray towards anyone trying to break the law and cross that line.”



‘Enough is enough’: Protester denounces Netanyahu visit

Adam Abusalah, an Arab-American activist from Dearborn, Michigan, says it is a “shame” that Netanyahu was invited to speak to Congress.

“It’s a disgrace that members from both parties have invited him to speak here. It’s a disgrace that Kamala Harris, the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party, will meet with him,” Abusalah told Al Jazeera at an anti-Netanyahu protest near the Capitol.

“We are here to say enough is enough. As Americans, we will not stand for that.”


Protesters gather outside the US Capitol to protest against Netanyahu’s speech



SvennoJ on 24 July 2024

Netanyahu vows to ‘restore security’ along border with Lebanon

Netanyahu has turned his attention to Hezbollah, connecting the group to Iran’s influence throughout the region and warning that Israel could use military force if diplomacy fails to secure an agreement regarding tensions on the border with Lebanon.

The Israeli leader said that tens of thousands of Israelis who have evacuated their homes near the border with Lebanon amid exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have become “refugees in their own land,” and that Israel will do “whatever it must do” to restore security.

Netanyahu says ‘America has our back’

Following remarks about escalating attacks by the Yemen-based Houthi rebels, Netanyahu has thanked politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties for their consistent support.

“As we defend ourselves on all fronts, I know that America has our back. And I thank you for it, all sides of the aisle,” he said.



Netanyahu says countries must join alliance to counter Iran

Netanyahu has said that a regional alliance must be forged to counter the influence of Iran, thanking Biden for his efforts to that effect and calling for an extension of the so-called Abraham Accords.

“I have a name for this new alliance. I think we should call it the Abraham Alliance,” he said, thanking Trump for his efforts promoting normalisation efforts between Israel and other countries in the region.


Netanyahu wishes Trump well after assassination attempt

The Israeli leader praised Trump for his support for Israeli priorities during his time as president, such as moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move that runs counter to international law.

“Like Americans, Israelis were relieved that President Trump emerged safe and sound from that dastardly attack on him, dastardly attack on American democracy. There is no room for political violence in democracies,” he said.

Critics in Israel have long held Netanyahu partly responsible for the assassination of former Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated by a right-wing extremist in the 1990s amid a tense atmosphere that critics say Netanyahu exploited for political gain and exacerbated with radical rhetoric.



SvennoJ on 24 July 2024

Families of Israeli captives reportedly arrested for wearing shirts calling for deal to bring them home

Netanyahu praised the families of captives held in Gaza, a group that has consistently expressed frustration with Netanyahu back in Israel but figure prominently in his messaging overseas.

Several reporters who cover Israel reported that relatives of captives were arrested for wearing shirts calling for a deal that would bring the remaining captives home, an effort critics of Netanyahu have accused him of working to sabotage.

Republican House Leader Mike Johnson had previously warned that anyone who attempted to disrupt Netanyahu’s speech could face arrest.



SvennoJ on 24 July 2024

Yair Lapid calls Netanyahu speech a ‘disgrace’

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has bashed Netanyahu’s address in a social media post, saying that the Israeli leader went through his speech without endorsing a deal to bring remaining captives home.

“Disgrace!” Lapid said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

https://x.com/yairlapid/status/1816190163934142965

‘Not in our names, not with our consent’: Demonstrator

Alaa Yousef, a 32-year-old Palestinian American, told Al Jazeera that she travelled to Washington, DC, from New York to voice her concerns about Netanyahu’s address to Congress, calling the Israeli prime minister a “war criminal who should stand trial”.

“We just here to cause a disruption, shut it down [and] say, ‘Not in our names, not with our consent,” Yousef said.

She called Netanyahu’s invite to Congress “disgusting”. She also expressed astonishment that congressional leaders chose to bring the prime minister to the Capitol yet again.

“I don’t get how people get to a level where they detach themselves so much from their humanity that they can see what’s been happening in Gaza… and still continue to entertain him and invite him here,” Yousef said.

 

Activist decries ‘most documented genocide in human history’

Irene Ippolito, a protester draped in a red keffiyeh, told Al Jazeera outside the US Capitol that the mass atrocities in Gaza are known to the world.

“We need to be out here. We need to say, ‘Not in our name’,” Ippolito told Al Jazeera. “As American citizens, we have to realise that this could not be taking place without our taxpayer dollars sending tonnes of weapons to Israel as it slaughters men, women and children in Gaza.”

She described top US lawmakers as a “bunch of sycophants” for inviting Netanyahu to Congress.



Hamas says speech shows Netanyahu’s lack of interest in a ceasefire

Hamas senior official Sami Abu Zuhri has said that Netanyahu’s remarks demonstrate that he is not interested in ending the war, according to the US news outlet Reuters.

“Netanyahu’s speech was full of lies, and it will not succeed in covering up for the failure and defeat in the face of the resistance,” Abu Zuhri said in comments to the news agency.

He added that the address would also not “cover up for the crimes of the war of genocide his army is committing against the people of Gaza”.

In a statement, Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Palestinian group’s political bureau, slammed the speech by “the criminal” Netanyahu as “a party of lies”.



SvennoJ on 24 July 2024

Representative Tlaib says she will ‘never back down’ from dissent

Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, said in a social media post following Netanyahu’s speech that Palestinians will never be erased.

“I will never back down in speaking truth to power,” she said.

“The apartheid government of Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians. Palestinians will not be erased. Solidarity with all those outside of these walls in the streets protesting and exercising their right to dissent."




I keep hearing the Republican party is divided, yet the Democrats are split as well when it comes to Israel.


Recap

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/24/key-takeaways-from-netanyahus-speech-and-the-protests-outside-us-congress

  • Tense scene unfolded outside the Capitol as thousands of protesters came out to denounce Israel’s continuing war in Gaza.
  • Police fired tear gas at protesters deemed “violent”. Inside the Capitol, Netanyahu blasted the protesters as “useful idiots” for Israel’s adversary, Iran.
  • Netanyahu also used the podium as a bully pulpit to blast efforts at the International Criminal Court to seek an arrest warrant against him for war crimes.
  • Faced with calls to end the conflict, Netanyahu stopped short of announcing a deal to free Israeli captives, generating outrage among their relatives.
  • Instead, he once again called for “total victory” against the Palestinian group Hamas and mapped a future for Gaza where Israel maintains “overriding security control” to prevent further conflict.
  • He also called for an extension of the Abraham Accords, an effort in 2020 and 2021 to normalise relations between Israel and nearby Arab states.