Washington (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers on Thursday invited Israel’s president to address a joint meeting of Congress on July 19, a top honor aimed at celebrating Israel’s 75th birthday even as tensions rise with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government.
Isaac Herzog’s address will be the first by an Israeli president, a largely ceremonial role, since his father delivered remarks to the House of Representatives and Senate over 35 years ago, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said in a statement.
“The world is better off when America and Israel work together,” McCarthy said. “(We) continue to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two democracies.”
Herzog’s visit to Washington follows a period of increased violence in the occupied West Bank, where a renewed settlement construction push by Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist government has drawn criticism from President Joe Biden’s administration.
Netanyahu has yet to be received at the White House despite winning a sixth term in November, an apparent signal of U.S. displeasure over his policies – including a contested plan to roll back the powers of Israel’s Supreme Court.
Netanyahu said in an interview published Thursday that he has was no longer seeking to grant parliament the authority to overturn Supreme Court rulings as part of the judicial overhaul plan. Washington has yet to comment on his pledge.
Recent violence in the West Bank, territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and where Palestinians seek statehood, has included deadly clashes in the Palestinian city of Jenin, a fatal shooting by Palestinians near a Jewish setlement, and attacks on Palestinian villages by settlers.
Most countries deem the settlements as illegal. Washington last week objected to an Israeli decision to approve the construction of around 5,700 additional West Bank housing units for Jewish settlers.
