US and Israel must stand together, Netanyahu tells Congress; Israeli Cabinet member endorses Trump

Israeli far-right Cabinet member Itamar Ben Gvir took the unusual step of endorsing Donald Trump as the next US president, saying a return of the ex-leader would bolster the chances of victory against Iran’s allied militant groups and the Islamic Republic itself.

Elon Musk attended Netanyahu’s address in the US Capitol on Wednesday as a guest of the Israeli prime minister, said a spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Netanyahu tells Congress US and Israel must ‘stand together’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a joint meeting of Congress the US must remain united with Israel in its war against Hamas, as many Democratic lawmakers boycotted his speech and police used pepper spray against protesters outside the Capitol.

“For the forces of civilisation to triumph, America and Israel must stand together,” Netanyahu told House and Senate legislators. “When we stand together, something very simple happens: We win, they lose.”

Netanyahu got several standing ovations as he spoke, reflecting the broad bipartisan support he retains in the US even as criticism has mounted over the war. About two dozen US legislators announced they wouldn’t attend to protest the mounting death toll — some 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza — and Netanyahu’s handling of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu delivered his speech at one of the most supercharged moments of recent US political history. Three days ago, President Joe Biden announced he wouldn’t seek reelection and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris to replace him. A week before that, a would-be assassin wounded former president Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Harris would normally preside over such events but was absent to attend a previously scheduled campaign rally in Indianapolis. Harris was scheduled to meet Netanyahu on Thursday, as was Biden.

Netanyahu thanked Biden in his speech as a “proud Zionist” but has made no secret of his preference for Trump, and was scheduled to travel to Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Friday to meet him.

Ahead of the address, Capitol Police arrested dozens of anti-Israel protesters who accused Netanyahu of committing war crimes in Gaza. Security was exceptionally tight around the Capitol on Wednesday with nearby roads closed and fencing erected around the complex.

Key Netanyahu coalition partner says Trump best for Israel

Israeli far-right Cabinet member Itamar Ben Gvir took the unusual step of endorsing Donald Trump as the next US president, saying a return of the ex-leader would bolster the chances of victory against Iran’s allied militant groups and the Islamic Republic itself.

“I believe that with Trump, Israel will receive the backing to act against Iran,” the minister for national security told Bloomberg in an interview. “With Trump, it will be clearer that enemies must be defeated.”

The head of Jewish Power — a nationalist party that’s key to the survival of Netanyahu’s coalition — Ben Gvir has been an outspoken critic of ceasefire talks that could stop the fighting in Gaza, at least temporarily, and see some of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas freed in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

His opposition to a truce has the potential to undermine internationally mediated attempts to reach a deal, which the US has pushed for months. That said, he opposed a ceasefire agreement in late November — the only one to date — but did not go as far as quitting the government.

“The US has always stood behind Israel in terms of armaments and weapons, yet this time the sense was that we were being reckoned with — that we were trying to be prevented from winning,” Ben Gvir said. “That happened on Biden’s watch and fed Hamas with lots of energy.”

While Biden and his top officials repeatedly urged Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza and engage in truce negotiations, the president visited Israel after the Hamas invasion on 7 October that triggered the war. His administration has supplied Israel with hundreds of ammunition shipments and a $14-billion military aid package.

Read more: A confident Netanyahu takes his message to a weakened Biden 

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war started, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, much of which has been reduced to rubble. Hamas, designated a terrorist organisation by the US and European Union, killed about 1,200 people on 7 October and took about 250 hostage.

Ben Gvir minister warned he would quit Netanyahu’s government — potentially collapsing the whole coalition — if a ceasefire deal was reached that he can’t support.

That would include one that prevents Israel from being able to resume fighting against Hamas in Gaza and leads to a mass release of Palestinian prisoners involved in lethal attacks on Israelis.

His preference would be to escalate pressure against Hamas — both with military force and by depriving Gaza of humanitarian aid. He’s also in favour of a full-blown war with Hezbollah, a Lebanese-based militant group supported by Iran.

“The sooner, the better,” he said of Hezbollah, which has been exchanging fire with Israel since October.

Musk attends Netanyahu address as guest of Israeli leader 

Elon Musk attended Netanyahu’s address in the US Capitol on Wednesday as a guest of the Israeli prime minister, said a spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson.

The invitation came one day after Musk announced SpaceX has begun offering Starlink internet service in a hospital in the Gaza Strip, just over five months after receiving permission to start services there from the Israeli government.

Musk, the world’s richest man, has had a complicated relationship with Israel. Advertisers on his social media platform X have pulled back to distance themselves from anti-Semitic comments — some amplified by Musk himself — that eventually led to him visiting a town devastated by the Hamas attacks.

Musk sat down with Netanyahu in September 2023 in a meeting in which he staunchly defended himself against accusations of anti-Semitism. DM

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