‘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.
“[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.
Recent Posts
We Have Fascism at Home: Resisting Militarized Police
Take Action Now While we must organize against fascism at the federal level, we must not lose sight of the threat of local police and their damage to…
The Bezos Post Editorial Page Has Become a Mouthpiece for Pro-Billionaire Propaganda
Take Action Now Jeff Bezos said The Washington Post would no longer publish opinion pieces critical of free markets. Recent editorials show just how…
Iran Says It Won’t Negotiate With ‘Erratic’ Trump After Genocidal Threat to ‘Blow Up’ Whole Country
Take Action Now “Our assessment is that Trump effectively lacks both a coherent plan and the capacity to secure even a temporary agreement,” an…
The Case for Blaming Billionaires
Take Action Now Criticizing the billionaire class may lack nuance, but the ultrawealthy are robbing us of our voice and vote, trashing our…