Netanyahu launched post-war plan for Gaza – was praised in Congress

It was the fourth time Netanyahu had the rare opportunity to speak from the podium in the House of Representatives. He thus beat Winston Churchill’s old record of three visits. The Israeli Prime Minister was greeted with a standing ovation lasting several minutes inside the Congress building when he arrived.

– In the Middle East, Iran’s terror threatens the United States, Israel and our Arab friends. This is not a battle between different civilizations, this is a battle between barbaric forces and civilized forces, Netanyahu said in the opening of his speech.

– For the civilized forces to win, Israel and the United States must stand together, he said to thunderous applause from the audience.

Netanyahu also thanked Biden repeatedly for American support for Israel, prompting several rounds of standing ovation.

– Want a demilitarized Gaza

There has long been a call for a plan from Netanyahu about what will happen in Gaza on the day the war between Israel and Hamas ends. But until today there has been silence from the Israeli prime minister.

In his speech, Netanyahu claimed that Israel does not want to claim Gaza after the war, but that they want to assure Israel’s security.

– I want a demilitarized and deradicalized Gaza ruled by Palestinians who do not want to destroy Israel. It’s not much to ask, he said.

Proposed a new security alliance

Netanyahu also advocated the creation of a new security alliance in the Middle East consisting of, among others, the United States and Israel, and invited other countries to join the alliance to “fight the Iranian threat.”

– We can call it the Abraham alliance, he said, referring to the so-called Abraham agreements that were signed between Israel and the Muslim countries of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan in 2020.

The agreements were to formally normalize relations between the aforementioned countries and Israel, and were negotiated by the United States and then-President Donald Trump, who also received a tribute from Netanyahu.

– Israelis are relieved that Trump is safe after the assassination attempt. On behalf of Israel, I want to thank him for everything he did for Israel, Netanyahu said.

Applause inside, protest outside

While Netanyahu received a warm welcome inside Congress, there were other scenes outside. There, several thousand demonstrators had made the trip to Capitol Hill to protest Israel’s war in Gaza and Netanyahu’s invitation to Congress.

The police reportedly used pepper spray against some demonstrators and warned people not to go past the police barriers.

Addressing the demonstrations during his speech, Netanyahu said those protesting Israel should be ashamed.

– You have turned into useful idiots who help Iran, he said.

Furthermore, Netanyahu said that Israel is still working to bring home the hostages remaining in Gaza.

“War criminal”

Several members of the House of Representatives had previously announced a boycott of Netanyahu’s speech, including Democrat Nancy Pelosi and Republican Thomas Massie.

Kamala Harris is on the campaign trail and several Democrats stated in advance that they would boycott the speech by not being present.

Democratic congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, whose parents are from Palestine, sat in the hall with several different signs that read, among other things, “war criminal” and “guilty of genocide”. On several occasions in Netanyahu’s speech, large sections of the democratic politicians refrained from clapping.