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‘Our enemies are your enemies,’ the prime minister insisted, setting up confrontation with Iran.

By Blaise Malley, Responsible Statecraft

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent a major portion of his hour-long speech to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday lecturing the American people about how they should think and react to Israel’s war on Gaza.

Furthermore, he didn’t present as someone on the verge of signing a ceasefire deal to end the war and free the Israeli and American hostages, as suggested by U.S. officials last month and as recently as Friday, when Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that such a deal was “inside the 10-yard line.” Instead the prime minister seemed intent on digging in until “total victory” in the war, which according to the Gaza health ministry has now killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians.

Press statement by Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu at the European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium

“[Hamas] actually want Palestinian civilians to die so that Israel will be smeared in the international media and be pressured to end the war before it’s won. This would enable Hamas to survive another day,” the prime minister said.

“Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’ military capabilities, end its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home. That’s what total victory means, and we will settle for nothing less,” he added.

Netanyahu spent the first portion of his speech recounting the events of October 7, thanking the United States government for its support, and castigating American college presidents and students protesting against Israel’s policies, equating their criticism with antisemitism.

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Militarism and Foreign Policy