SR/STA
25. 7. 2024, 22.00
Updated: 25/07/2024, 22:00
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who addressed congressmen on Wednesday amid a boycott of Democrats’ work and several incidents, visited the White House on Thursday, where he met with US President Joe Biden.
Netanyahu with is Bidnu thanked for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support to the State of Israel and assured that they will work together until the end of Biden’s term in January 2025. He did not talk about the details of the collaboration before the two leaders left for a closed-door conversation. For several months now, Biden has been calling on Israel to increase humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza and reduce the number of civilian casualties during the operation against the Hamas movement, whose members attacked Israel last October.
Netanyahu is also expected to meet with the vice president of the United States later today Kamalo Harris, who is on her way to being formally endorsed as the Democratic presidential nominee after Biden announced Sunday that he was dropping out of the re-election race. On Friday, Netanyahu will visit another Republican presidential candidate in Florida Donald Trump.
Profimedia
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US is accompanied by numerous protests.
Many protests
Harris, who, according to some, is said to be more sympathetic to the Palestinians than Biden has been so far, strongly condemned the burning of the American flag and the glorification of Hamas by some protesters against Netanyahu’s speech in front of both houses of Congress.
“I condemn all individuals who associate themselves with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas. Graffiti and rhetoric supporting Hamas is abhorrent and should not be tolerated in our country. I condemn the burning of the American flag. I support the right to peaceful protest,” she announced, adding that there should be no place for violence.
Netanyahu faced a standing ovation in Congress. In front of the Congress Palace, several thousand protesters demanded his arrest for alleged war crimes, and there were also clashes with the police.
The protest also took place inside the Congress, but it was quiet, as more than 100 opponents of Israel’s policy towards Gaza did not attend Netanyahu’s speech in the US Congress.
Netanyahu announced in Congress the fight to complete victory against Hamas, and the world is now waiting for the reaction of American leaders to this statement. After the conversation, Biden and Netanyahu will also meet with the family members of the American hostages who were captured by Hamas during the attack last October.
Profimedia
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US is accompanied by numerous protests.
Armistice negotiations
An unnamed senior official of the US government announced on Wednesday that negotiations on a cease-fire in Gaza are close to an agreement, and Biden is said to be trying to bridge the last differences with Netanyahu. However, Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other U.S. officials have for weeks been predicting an imminent deal that has yet to happen.
The Hamas attack claimed 1,197 lives on the Israeli side, the AFP news agency reports, and the Israeli response on the Palestinian side of Gaza has so far claimed more than 39,100 lives. Gaza is destroyed, the population is displaced, there is a shortage of food, water and medicine, and the fighting continues.
Source: svet24.si
