Republican leaders in Congress meet with Netanyahu

Republican Congress Leaders met on Thursday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Capitol, a show of support coming after President Trump suggested that the United States “take over” Gaza Strip and displaces millions of Palestinians living there.

Mr. Netanyahu met the first phase to guarantee the rest of the hostages held by Hamas for more than a year would be returned home.

He also emphasized the importance of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons as a critical part of maintaining peace in the Middle East and preventing escalations between Israel and Iranian proxy groups.

The Israeli leader told lawmakers that the war would in his opinion would not be over until Hamas had been completely eradicated, according to two people who were familiar with the meeting.

Mr. Netanyahu also pressed the group to pass a bill that would impose on the International Criminal Court sanctions that faced top -art binding for his decision to issue arrests for him and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant. The court accused them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The measure stopped in the Senate last week after a collapse of changes that the Democrats said they would see in the bill.

During the meeting, Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democrat in New York and minority leader, said members of his party were eager to continue working with Republicans on a compromise, according to several people familiar with the exchange. Mr. Netanyahu signaled that he agreed with the plan to seek a bipartisan solution.

But moments after the meeting used two top Republicans, Mr. Thune and Senator John Barrasso, Republicans of Wyoming, time on the Senate floor to give Democrats to block the current version of the legislation seeking to punish officials associated with ICC

Mr. Barrasso said the move was a “violation of the people of Israel.”

Mr. Thune said that the Democrats’ refusal to let the bill move forward without amendment “could not only put Israelis but Americans in ICC’s cross hair.”

Democrats have expressed a desire to impose the sanctions on the international court, but wanted to narrow the measure to ensure that US allies and US companies working with court would not be punished. But Bipartisan talks about agreeing to such changes broke down.

Mr. Netanyahu was also scheduled to hold an afternoon session with speech Mike Johnson, Republican in Louisiana, but the meeting was re -planned until Friday morning after Mr. Johnson’s meeting with President Trump in the White House Ran Ran too late.

Mr. Johnson had previously repeated the iron -clad support that Mr. Trump offered during his performance with Mr. Netanyahu earlier this week.

“We have to support Israel right now, as strongly as ever,” said Mr. Johnson during an interview on Fox News Monday. “It’s a critical time in the Middle East and they have a real dilemma on their hands.”

It will be the second meeting between Mr. Johnson and Mr. Netanyahu. During the summer, Mr. Johnson’s efforts to invite Mr. Netanyahu to provide an address for a joint congressional meeting. Mr. Netanyahu used the opportunity to strongly defend Israeli’s military campaign in Gaza. He threw the offensive as a struggle for the survival of the Jewish state, while almost not mentioning the tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians killed in Israel’s driving to destroy Hamas.

Since then, a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas has come into force, and a number of hostages have been released from Gaza and reunited with family members.

Now the focus is on maintaining the ceasefire and planning to stabilize the region that is ravaged by more than a war year.

Mr. Johnson has this week praised Mr. Trump’s statement that the United States should “own” Gaza and send his Palestinian population elsewhere and transform the war -skinned enclave into “Riviera in the Middle East.”

Mr. Johnson promised that the house republicans would “stand with the president on his initiative.”