Republican House speaker says he’ll invite Netanyahu to address Congress

Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, said on Thursday that he plans to invite Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, to speak before Congress.

The comments come a week after Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate leader, called for elections in Israel which could oust Netanyahu, claiming the prime minister has “has lost his way”.

Republican support for Netanyahu has remained staunch, despite the death toll in Gaza rising to more than 30,000 in the face of Israel’s continued military action.

“I would love to have him come in and address a joint session of Congress,” Johnson said on Thursday morning, in an interview with CNBC. “We’ll certainly extend that invitation.”

Johnson said it would be “a great honor of mine” to invite the Israeli leader. He added: “We’re just trying to work out schedules on all this”.

Netanyahu addressed Republican senators virtually at a closed door event on Wednesday. Earlier in the week Israel’s prime minister said he was “determined” to carry out a ground invasion of Rafah, the city in the south of Gaza, despite opposition from Joe Biden. An estimated 1.5 million Palestinians have taken shelter in Rafah after fleeing violence elsewhere in the country.

Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the United States, was criticized by Republicans and by Israel’s ruling Likud party after he said Netanyahu “has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel” in a speech in the Senate.

The Senate leader pointed out that Netanyahu had included far-right figures in his government, and said the prime minister “has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to