Speech of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the US Congress generated a wave of outrage. The families of the hostages accuse him of a PR campaign in the US and "political theater".
The speech that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave to the American Congress caused great disappointment - the families of the hostages who are still in the Gaza Strip called his appearance "political theater", Israeli media reported, quoted by the German public television ARD. Criticism of Netanyahu also came from influential Democrat Nancy Pelosi. However, Republicans applauded him.
Netanyahu has failed in the task of "presenting new solutions or a different way forward,", American relatives of hostages in Gaza said in a statement. The biggest problem, they say, is that he hasn't committed to a deal to release the hostages at all and hasn't announced one, despite many urging him to focus on just that. Shortly before the speech, it was even announced that the team of negotiators from Israel did not go to Qatar as planned, writes ARD. Another round of indirect negotiations had to be held there.
Criticisms and accusations
The US is definitely Israel's most important ally. Washington is now calling on Israel to increase humanitarian aid and better protect civilians. Former Speaker of Congress Nancy Pelosi sharply criticized Netanyahu, calling his performance "by far the worst by a foreign leader" who has had the privilege of speaking before the US Congress.
The relatives of the remaining 115 hostages in the Gaza Strip hoped that the Israeli prime minister would announce that an agreement had been reached for a ceasefire and the return of the hostages. But nothing of the sort happened. Representatives of the Islamist group Hamas accused him of lying, ARD also writes. In a statement, they said that Netanyahu is "blatantly lying and misleading the Israeli, American and international public" that he is making great efforts to return the hostages.
Tense relations with Biden?
A high-ranking representative of the US government, however, said that Washington was optimistic, and that he saw that the negotiations had reached the "final stage". Although there is progress, it is clear that both Netanyahu and Hamas will have to make some compromises. For the Israeli leader, this has other dimensions - his coalition partners from the ultra-religious and right-wing extremist parties reject any possibility of concessions and threaten to withdraw their confidence from the government.
Currently, the relationship between Biden and Netanyahu is also believed to be strained. The reason - the way in which the Israeli prime minister conducts the war in the Gaza Strip. The two leaders are due to hold a meeting today. Netanyahu continued to insist in his speech that "Israel and the United States must support each other.
Protests against Netanyahu
Netanyahu rejects accusations that Israel is deliberately targeting civilians in Gaza. He again defended himself by saying that the Israeli army warns civilians with "leaflets, messages and calls" while "Hamas puts them in danger". The Israeli prime minister even stated that the war in Gaza has relatively fewer civilian casualties than other wars fought in residential areas. This statement does not correspond to the number of casualties distributed by the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health - the latest information put them at 39,000. However, they do not report the number of civilian casualties and fighters separately.
Before and during the speech, thousands demonstrated in Washington. At the pro-Palestinian rally, speakers called for ending military aid to Israel and accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. They insisted that the US government also had a role in it. Both Palestinian and Israeli flags waved at the demonstration. Shouts were also heard during Netanyahu's speech to Congress. He himself expressed distaste for the protesters in Washington, saying they were "on the side of evil, on the side of Hamas, the rapists and the murderers". Addressing the demonstrators directly, Netanyahu even said: "You have officially become the useful idiots of Iran.