David Makovsky, “Disagreements on Hostages Loom Over Netanyahu’s Washington Trip,” July 19, 2024, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

With permission

Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s latest Washington visit will center around a July 24 speech to a joint session of Congress and a meeting with President Biden two days earlier, marking their first White House encounter since Netanyahu formed his current government in December 2022. Although the prime minister will set a record for the most addresses to Congress by a foreign leader—surpassing no less than Winston Churchill—the long gap since his previous visit is a telling illustration of Jerusalem’s tensions with the Biden administration, first over a controversial judicial overhaul program and now over certain aspects of the Gaza war. What will their discussions focus on, and how will Netanyahu navigate a Capitol Hill appearance that has proven to be politically tricky terrain for him in the past?

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