Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited to address the US Congress “soon”, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, announced last Thursday evening, for which it will be a manifestation of the US’s “strong support” for Israel in through the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“I am happy to announce” that “we will soon welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu to the Capitol, as part of a session of the plenary session of Congress”, said the “speaker” (chairman) of the House of Representatives during an event at the Israeli embassy in Washington.

“It will be a timely and, I think, very strong show of our support for the Israeli government at a time when it needs it most,” he added.

The invitation, issued by the Republican opposition to Democratic President Joe Biden, comes after Israel suffered a double defeat at the international level this week — the recognition by three European countries of a Palestinian state and the decision of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court , by Karim Khan, to seek arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and his government’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallad, whom he accuses of possibly committing “war crimes”, as well as three Hamas leaders for whom he has also sought warrants arrest.

It comes even as US President Biden has publicly voiced his opposition to the Israeli military’s large-scale ground operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million displaced Palestinians are trapped, and has threatened to suspend some US arms and ammunition deliveries to Israel if not listened to.

The threat drew sharp criticism from Republicans, who accused Mr. Biden of abandoning Israel, a key US ally in the Middle East.

No date has yet been announced for the possible trip of the Israeli prime minister to Washington, who still has to accept the invitation.

In March, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer caused an uproar when he said, addressing the semi-circle, that the coalition government under Mr. Netanyahu “no longer meets the needs of Israel after October 7.” the day the war with Hamas broke out, and called for early elections in the country.