WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday laid out his proposal for Gaza’s future, claiming that while his country did not seek to settle the area, it was looking for overwhelming control over the narrow Palestinian coastal territory, devastated by nine months of bombardment.

“The day after we defeat Hamas, a new Gaza can emerge. My vision for that day is of a de-militarised and de-radicalised Gaza,” Netanyahu told lawmakers in an address to the US Congress.

“Israel does not seek to resettle Gaza. But for the foreseeable future, we must retain overriding security control there to prevent the resurgence of terror, to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” he said.

“Gaza should have a civilian administration run by Palestinians who do not seek to destroy Israel. That’s not too much to ask,” Netanyahu added.

Many Democrats shun Israeli PM’s address to Congress; thousands take to the streets of Washington in protest

Israel occupied Gaza until its 2005 withdrawal, and Hamas took control of the territory two years later.

The Israeli premier said he was confident that efforts to secure the release of prisoners held in Gaza would succeed.

He also called for an alliance between Israel, the United States and the Arab world as “all of us are under threat from Iran’s ‘axis of terror’.

“America and Israel must stand together,” Netanyahu said as he began his speech, after walking in to uproarious applause and shouts from Republicans and a more subdued reception from Democrats.

It was a record fourth speech by a foreign leader to a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives, surpassing British wartime leader Winston Churchill, who made three.

Democrats register disapproval

A number of Democratic lawmakers skipped his speech, expressing dismay over the thousands of civilian deaths and the humanitarian crisis from Israel’s bombings of Gaza. Smith said he never attends joint meetings, but also described himself as “very, very opposed to what Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing in Israel”.

Some of the most prominent Democrats skipped the speech. They included Senators Dick Durbin, the chamber’s No 2 Democrat, Tim Kaine, Jeff Merkley and Brian Schatz, all members of the Senate’s foreign relations committee, as well as Patty Murray, who chairs Senate appropriations committee.

In the House, absentees included progressive Representatives Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as Ami Bera and Joaquin Castro, members of the foreign affairs committee, Adam Smith, the top Democrat on armed services body and Rosa DeLauro, his counterpart on the appropriations committee.

A Republican member, Thomas Massie, also did not attend.

Thousands take to streets

Outside the Capitol building, thousands of demonstrators took to nearby streets amid the tightest security since the Jan 6, 2021, attack by supporters of former president Donald Trump. The Capitol building was surrounded by high fencing, with a heavy police presence.

Just before Netanyahu spoke, police reported that some of the protests had become violent, prompting them to use pepper spray.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2024