For the first time since October 7 and this war that keeps him busy twenty hours a day, Benjamin Netanyahu is allowing himself to leave his country. Suffice to say that the Israeli Prime Minister is betting big on his official visit to the United States. Carefully prepared by his advisers – who managed to overcome the reluctance of the Biden administration – it is taking place in an unforeseen context: the sudden withdrawal of the American president from the race for re-election and the launch of Kamala Harris. “I will tell our friends on both sides that, no matter who the next president the American people choose, Israel will remain the indispensable and powerful ally of the United States in the Middle East,” Netanyahu declared before boarding the plane on Monday morning.
Before meeting Donald Trump in Florida on Thursday, Netanyahu will speak on Wednesday afternoon before a bipartisan chamber, the highlight of his trip. An honor reserved for a few rare heads of government throughout history. “Anyone who behaves inappropriately during Netanyahu’s speech could risk arrest,” warned Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in the face of threats of boycott and hostile demonstrations brandished by several Democratic elected officials. A climate that reflects the unprecedented tensions caused by the Israeli military intervention in Gaza. As bombs rain down on Gazan civilian populations, American support is dwindling. Under pressure from pro-Palestinian students and the left wing of the Democratic Party, Joe Biden has multiplied his condemnations and delayed several deliveries of weapons and ammunition. Seen from Jerusalem, Kamala Harris, the vice president and now a possible presidential candidate, appears to be the main relay for Israel’s detractors in the White House. “She’s often portrayed as the bad cop,” jokes Jacob Maguid, an Israeli-American columnist at Times of Israel.
Red rag
Accompanied in particular by Noa Argamani, a young hostage freed during a commando operation in the heart of Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu comes to Washington with the firm intention of winning back the hearts of Americans and pushing back diplomatic pressure. For weeks, the Biden administration has been encouraging Israel to soften its position in negotiations with Hamas. In exchange for the release of the hostages, the Americans are pushing for a definitive end to the fighting and the transfer to the Palestinian Authority of control of several parts of the Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphia axis which runs along the border with Egypt. A red rag for the Israeli nationalist parties. “We have paid with the blood of our children for each territorial withdrawal of Tsahal. We will demand that an agreement for the hostages be negotiated from a position of strength and not weakness,” asserts Yaakov Nitzan, president of the “Courage” Forum and father of an Israeli soldier killed in the Gaza war.
Inflexible
Benjamin Netanyahu has promised his partners to remain inflexible. On the desk of his new private plane – a Boeing 767 named “Wings of Zion” – he has placed a cap with the words “Until total victory”. A way of ruling out any truce without Hamas’ surrender. “The Arab countries are worried about this visit, because they have understood that Netanyahu does not intend to end the war anytime soon. He will probably extend it until next November, that is to say after the elections in the United States, hoping that President Trump will win them and offer full support to Israel in all its military actions”, believes Israeli geopolitical scientist Yoni Ben Menahem.
A realistic prediction, especially since the conflict could spread to the north and south of Israel. Last Saturday, the Israeli army carried out an impressive raid on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, in the hands of the Houthi rebels who regularly attack Israel. According to several sources, the United States would have provided assistance to the Israeli army.