Israel's Netanyahu departs for "very important" Washington trip as protesters prepare to rally
Washington DC - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for Washington Monday to deliver a speech to Congress this week, even has his government perpetrates a brutal assault on the people of Gaza.
Netanyahu called the visit a "very important trip" that comes at a time of "great political uncertainty," referring to President Joe Biden's decision not to seek re-election and as Washington pushes Israel to seek a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Israel's longest-serving premier will on Wednesday become the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of the two chambers four times – pulling ahead of Britain's Winston Churchill on three.
Netanyahu said that in his address to the Congress, he would "seek to anchor the bipartisan support that is so important for Israel."
"I will tell my friends on both sides of the aisle that regardless who the American people choose as their next president, Israel remains America's indispensable and strong ally in the Middle East," Netanyahu said in a statement released minutes before he departed from Ben Gurion airport.
Netanyahu will meet Biden during the visit to discuss how to achieve Israel's goals in the ongoing war. Biden will remain president until January 20 next year.
"In this time of war and uncertainty, it's important that Israel's enemies know that America and Israel stand together today, tomorrow and always," he said.
Netanyahu faces widespread genocide and war crimes accusations
Netanyahu is expected to be met with mass protests in the US, where public demonstrations in solidarity with the besieged people of Gaza have rocked the country for months.
The Biden administration has continued to supply the Israeli government with billions of dollars' worth of weapons.
Congressional leaders' decision to invite Netanyahu angered many Americans who have been calling on the US government to do more to prevent further loss of life in Palestine.
Israel has intensified its attacks on Gaza in recent weeks with a series of massacres and brutal killings.
The International Court of Justice found Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories illegal on Friday, and earlier this year called for the government and its military to prevent any acts of genocide in their Gaza attacks.
The International Criminal Court's prosecutor in May asked judges to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. In response, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives has called for sanctions against the ICC.
Ahead of Netanyahu's visit, the Center for Constitutional Rights has called on the Department of Justice to open a war crimes and genocide investigation into the Israeli leader.
Cover photo: Nir Elias / POOL / AFP