Netanyahu to share vision of peace in speech to Congress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint meeting of Congress at 11 a.m. Tuesday, when he plans to offer more details about how Israel and a Palestinian state might peacefully coexist.

His address comes just one day after Netanyahu flatly rejected President Obama’s idea to base a peace agreement on boundary lines that existed in 1967. Netanyahu said those old boundaries would make it difficult to defend Israel from terrorist attacks, and blamed the Palestinian Authority for its recent reconciliation with Hamas, which continues to call for the destruction of Israel.

Republicans and Democrats spent much of Monday supporting Netanyahu’s reaction to Obama’s proposal, setting up a Tuesday speech that will likely meet with rousing support from members of both parties. Even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) that it is “premature” to talk about setting borders.

{mosads}Two Republicans introduced resolutions last night affirming U.S. support for Israel. One, from Rep. Louie Gohmert (Texas), condemns Iran for supporting terrorism against Israel, and supports “all means of persuading the government of Iran to stop building and acquiring nuclear weapons.”

A second resolution, from Rep. Robert Dold (Ill.), reaffirms U.S. principles on Israel’s security and peace in the Middle East.