Israel’s Herzog to address joint meeting of US Congress on July 19

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israeli President Isaac Herzog will address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress during a visit to Washington on July 19 in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of his country’s founding, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Thursday.

“The only other President of Israel to share this distinction is his father — President Chaim Herzog — more than 35 years ago,” McCarthy said in a statement, describing it as an opportunity to reaffirm the two countries’ special relationship.

Herzog’s visit to Washington follows a period of increased violence in the occupied West Bank, where a renewed settlement construction push by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 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 the policies of his religious-nationalist government.

Washington last week objected to a decision by Israel’s government to approve the construction of around 5,700 additional housing units for Jewish settlers in West Bank. (This story has been corrected to say that Netanyahu won a sixth term in November, not a third term, in paragraph 4)

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