Senator Brian Schatz has said he will not attend a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a joint session of the US Congress in Washington DC on July 24, Al Jazeera reports.

The Jewish Democrat from Hawaii criticised what he said was a “partisan address to Congress just months ahead” of the US presidential elections.

“Nine months after the atrocities of October 7 and the ensuing conflict, negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages are ongoing — and that should be the focus,” he said.

“As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I welcome a substantive discussion about the future, not political rhetoric that will do nothing to bring peace in the region. I therefore will not attend Wednesday’s address,” he added.