Johnson reportedly criticized Biden indirectly, accusing “some leaders” of attempting to withhold “vital weapons” from Israel.
Republican US House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon address a joint session of Congress, Reuters news agency reported.
According to Reuters, the move came “amid heightened tension with President Joe Biden over the Israeli leader’s handling of the war in Gaza.”
Speaking at the Israeli embassy’s annual Independence Day reception, Johnson, a vocal critic of Biden’s Israel policy, described the planned address as “a strong show of support for the Israeli government in their time of greatest need.”
At the event, Democratic US Representative Pete Aguilar also spoke, and reportedly said that “as Americans, we reaffirm our commitment to Israel’s sovereignty.”
Johnson reportedly criticized Biden indirectly, accusing “some leaders” of attempting to withhold “vital weapons” from Israel.
Biden has paused one bomb shipment and warned of potential delays to others if Netanyahu initiates a full-scale ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza. However, most weapon supplies have continued.
Moreover, according to Reuters, Johnson and Aguilar condemned the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s recent decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense chief, Yoav Gallant.
It is shameful that Schumer & Johnson are inviting genocider-in-chief Bibi Netanyahu to come to D.C. and address Congress.
We need all hands on deck to shame these war criminals! pic.twitter.com/FiAo7aM5Rq
— Medea Benjamin (@medeabenjamin) May 3, 2024
ICC Arrest Warrants
ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Monday that his office had filed applications for arrest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for “war crimes and crimes against humanity”.
Khan said his team has applied for the warrants with the court’s pre-trial chamber and a panel of judges will decide on granting the warrants.
“On the basis of evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, the Minister of Defence of Israel, bear criminal responsibility for the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 8 October 2023,” the statement read.
Three Palestinian leaders, Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Mohammed Deif, the leader of Al-Qassam Brigades and the head of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh were also included in Khan’s application.
US Reaction
US President Joe Biden called the arrest applications against Israeli leaders “outrageous.”
“And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” Biden stated.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “We reject the prosecutor’s equivalence of Israel with Hamas.”
The US Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN and Ambassador Robert Wood called the move by the ICC “shameful,” according to the Anadolu news agency.
Biden’s Zionist Entanglement in Gaza Genocide – Does He Have an Exit Strategy?
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 35,800 Palestinians have been killed, and 80,011 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children. The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of
Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(PC, Anadolu)
F#ck Netanyahu. F#ck Zionism. Theodor Herzl hated Jews, thought they were scum. Now the innocent Jewish citizens are being exploited and shamed, by Political Zionism.