(Finance) – The former speaker of the American House, Nancy Pelosidefined the Israeli Prime Minister’s speech Benjamin Netanyahu to Capitol Hill as the worst ever said by a foreign leader.” Pelosi said: “The families of the hostages want a cease-fire to bring them home and we hope that the Prime Minister will spend his time achieving this goal.”
Tomorrow, the American president Joe Biden And Netanyahu will discuss how to overcome the final obstacles to the ceasefire agreement and the release of the hostages in the Gaza Strip, which is “in the closing phase,” according to a senior U.S. administration official. The remaining hurdles are considered surmountable, and further meetings are planned for next week.
During the speech, Netanyahu reiterated: “We will win and ours will be a total victory.. What is happening is not a clash of civilizations, but between barbarism and civilizations.” He defended Israel’s actions in Gaza, urging new military aid from the U.S. and reassuring its commitment to a ceasefire agreement.
Netanyahu spoke to a divided Capitol, with numerous democratic defections and pro-Palestinian protests outside the building. He verbally attacked protesters as “Iran’s useful idiots.” Despite the criticism, he sought to demonstrate a more bipartisan approach than his 2015 speech.
Kamal Harris did not preside over the House for the speech, citing campaign commitments. Some see this move as an attempt to distance himself from Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza. Among the Democratic defections, there were high-profile senators like Patty Murray and Bernie Sanderswith the latter declaring: “I agree with the International Criminal Court that Netanyahu and Sinwar are war criminals.” Nancy Pelosi also skipped speaking to meet with Israeli families of victims of Hamas’ actions.
As protests continued outside the Capitol, Netanyahu prepared to meet Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, where he will find a less hostile environment than Capitol Hill.