(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he hosted a delegation of House Republicans who were in Israel on a trip organized by the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC, as members of Congress are flocking to the country amid their August recess.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, yesterday evening, met with an AIPAC-organized delegation of Republican members of the US Congress,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. “The Prime Minister briefed the members of Congress on the war in the Gaza Strip and commented on the issue of the humanitarian assistance and the mendacious campaign being waged by Hamas against the State of Israel.”
AIPAC Tracker, a group that tracks donations to US lawmakers from pro-Israel lobby groups, identified 20 House GOP members from a picture posted online by Netanyahu’s office. US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is also in Israel this week and visited illegal Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including one where he dined with Netanyahu.
According to Punchbowl News, about 20 House Democrats are also headed to Israel during the recess on an AIPAC-sponsored trip. The strong show of support for Israel from so many US lawmakers comes as Israel is regularly massacring over 100 Palestinians a day in Gaza, including many desperate people seeking aid, and Palestinians are starving to death in Gaza every day due to the US-backed Israeli blockade.
The 20 House GOP members identified in the photo with Netanyahu include House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (MN), Harriet Hageman (WY), Michael Baumgartner (WA), Julie Fedorchak (ND), Jeff Hurd (CO), Craig Goldman (R-TX), Josh Brecheen (OK), Randy Fine (FL), Marlin Stutzman (IN), Brandon Gill (TX), Abe Hamadeh (AZ), Derek Schmidt (KS), John McGuire (VA), Mark Harris (NC), Brian Jack (GA), Guy Reschenthaler (PA), Troy Downing (MT), Tony Wied (WI), Bob Onder (MO), and Jefferson Shreve (IN).
Johnson is leading a smaller delegation that includes Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), Michael Cloud (R-TX), and Claudia Tenney (R-NY). According to Punchbowl, the Democrat delegation will be led by House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (CA) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD). Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is also visiting Israel and joined Johnson in his visit to West Bank settlements.
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
