No date set for Netanyahu’s address to US Congress, Israel says

WASHINGTON – No date has been set for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s

planned address to a joint meeting of the US Congress

, his office and congressional sources said on June 3, following reports that the leader’s speech had been set for June 13.

Without citing a source, a Punchbowl News reporter said on X that Mr Netanyahu would address a meeting of the US House of Representatives and the Senate on June 13. Politico and Bloomberg later reported the same date, citing unnamed sources.

That would bring the Israeli Premier to Washington when US President Joe Biden, who has clashed with Mr Netanyahu over the Gaza war, is expected to be in Puglia, Italy, for a June 13 to 15 Group of Seven leaders’ summit. The US is Israel’s main ally and provides billions of dollars in aid.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office said in a statement that a date for his address to Congress had yet to be set, but that it would not take place on June 13 because of a Jewish holiday.

Addresses to joint meetings of Congress by foreign leaders are a rare honour generally reserved for the closest US allies or major world figures. Mr Netanyahu has already given three such addresses, most recently in 2015.

This speech would make Mr Netanyahu the first foreign leader to address joint meetings of Congress four times. He is currently tied at three with Britain’s wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill.

The Gaza war was precipitated by

a Hamas-led attack on Oct 7

that killed about 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Palestinian health authorities estimate that more than 36,280 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel attacked the enclave.

Mr Biden’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas has emerged as a political liability for the President, particularly among young Democrats on the left, as he runs for re-election in 2024. REUTERS