CrossFireArabia
United States Congressman Jamaal Bowman of New York says:
“I am disgusted that we are allowing the man (Benjamin Netanyahu) who is responsible for ripping families apart and killing Israeli and Palestinian civilians to be given a platform before Congress to try and win support and funding for his indiscriminate bombing campaign.”
CrossFireArabia
CROSSFIREARABIA – About 400 Jewish-American activists are currently, Tuesday, inside one of the buildings of the US Congress in Capitol Hill protesting the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington.
Netanyahu is said to address both houses of Congress in a joint session on Wednesday. Already some Congressmen like Bernie Sanders said they would be boycotting the affair.
The activists want the US to stop arming Israel to carry on with its genocidal war in Gaza that is now in its 10th month.
With banners like “Let Gaza Live” and “Jews Say Stop Arming Israel”, the activists are making their voices heard by chanting “free Palestine”, “not in our name” and “stop the genocide.”
They are being surrounded by a Capitol police force contingent.
Meanwhile Palestinian-American lawmaker Rashida Tlaib slammed Netanyahu’s visit as “utterly disgraceful”.
“Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress.
“He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court,” she said according to Anadolu.
Tlaib said said the US has provided more than $141 billion in weapons to Israel to “fund the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians” since 1948, including $17.9 billion since October according to the Turkish news agency.
CrossFireArabia
Despite his tough and uncompromising stands Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands on shaky grounds.
As reported in the Jewish Maariv daily and highlighted in the Quds News Network, his teflon-factor toughness is dented domestically and daily, as characterized by the popular opposition against his rule, in the street and the Knesset.
Around 55% of Israelis have low confidence in the current military leadership of the country; 73% don’t trust the government and 71% express very low trust in Netanyahu.
Further, 86% are concerned about the security situation in Israel; 73% worried about the economic situation of the country and 63% support the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the army.
Around 500,000 Israelis have left the country since 7 October, 2023, and the Ben Gurion Airport is already packed with travelers wanting to leave following Friday’s Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu is visiting the United States with all these statistics staring him in the face.
He is addressing the US Congress and meeting US President Joe Biden amidst a declining trust among Israelis in his leadership.
This is particularly due to his failure to secure a ceasefire that could facilitate an exchange deal with the resistance in Gaza. At the same time the fate of 120-plus Israeli hostages hang in the balance.
At the same time, he is facing intense pressure from far-right ministers who threaten to dissolve the government if he agrees to a deal.
They are insisting that he initiate an all-out war against Lebanon—a conflict that, according to the U.S., could escalate into a regional war, which the U.S. has warned against.
But the US is worried also because Hezbollah is proving a very strong match in the north whilst the Houthis are prepared for an all out war which would disruptive globally.
CrossFireArabia
Israelis have surrounded the Ben Gurion Airport, Sunday, to prevent Prime Minister Netanyahu to travel to the United States.
They, including the relatives of the 120-or-so hostages, who want Netanyahu to sign a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance before he travels to Washington.
The protestors have surrounded almost all entrances of the Airport, that is just outside Tel Aviv to prevent Netanyahu from leaving.
Netanyahu is set to fly to Washington early Monday for talks with US officials, including President Joe Biden according to Anadolu.
Large police forces were present at the site of the protest, the broadcaster noted, it added.
Meanwhile its reported there is a huge rush of settlers at the Ben Gurion Airport waiting to leave Israel in fear of the Houthi drone attack made on Tel Aviv, Friday.
CrossFireArabia
Gaza’s Government Media Office has condemned continued US military support for Israel during the ongoing genocide war on Gaza which enters its 10th month, according to the Al Quds News Network.
“The US administration, under President Joe Biden, has caused a humanitarian catastrophe for Palestinians through its involvement in genocide and its provision of internationally banned weapons to the occupation,” it said in a statement on Monday.
It also called on “the world to condemn the American brutal behavior towards the Palestinian people”, urging “the international community to take a principled and public stance against the US and its serious transgressions in arming the Israeli occupation”.
A US report into Israeli violations of international law during the war found it was “reasonable to assess” that US weapons had been involved in these breaches given Israel’s reliance.
A US report in May said it is “reasonable to assess” that the weapons it has provided to Israel have been used in ways that are “inconsistent” with international human rights law.
The state department report found that: “Given Israel’s significant reliance on US-made defence articles, it is reasonable to assess that defence articles covered under NSM-20 have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its IHL obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm,” as reported in the Al Quds News Network.
