Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to face a depleted House when he addresses a joint seating of the US Congress on Wednesday after dozens of lawmakers said they will boycott or skip his speech.

Reasons given for absence from Netanyahu’s address range from opposition to his far-right government to opposing his approach to the war on Gaza to having scheduling conflicts.

Outside Capitol Hill and across downtown Washington DC, thousands of pro-Palestinian and anti-war activists from all over the country are expected to raise their ire against the Israeli war on Gaza as a whole, with their centre of attention being Netanyahu, who they accuse of leading a genocide on the Palestinian people in Gaza.

The goal of the protesters: arrest Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and genocide committed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

The International Criminal Court is currently deliberating over whether to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, and the protesters in Washington will themselves issue a notice of a “citizen’s arrest”.

As for those in Congress attending the address, the protesters say they are complicit in Israeli war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.

“Netanyahu and the members of Congress he will be addressing are partners in crime,” Hatem Abu Dayyeh, national coordinator for the US Palestinian Community Network, said in a statement shared with Middle East Eye.

“We are gathering to express our outrage not only with Netanyahu, but also with the US political elite who are indispensable to Israel’s ability to massacre Palestinians.”

The latest mass pro-Palestinian protest in Washington comes nearly ten months into the war, which began in October 2023 after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.

Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza, decimated the enclave’s civilian infrastructure and killed hundreds of journalists, medical workers, and UN staff members.

‘A dark stain on Congress’

Israel’s war has been met with sparse words of opposition in the US Congress, which has voted to continue funding Israel’s military and supplying them with weaponry to continue the war effort, despite near weekly reports of Israeli massacres of Palestinians.

Mass pro-Palestinian protests have taken place numerous times in Washington DC and other major US cities, with calls and demands for the end to US military aid to Israel and for the US to push Israel to accept an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

‘July 24th will be remembered as a dark stain on the legacy of the 118th Congress. Inviting a war criminal to speak… while he is committing genocide is a new low for this body’

– Mohamad Habehh, American Muslims for Palestine

Despite what observers have said is the largest pro-Palestinian mobilisation to have occurred in US history over the past several months, the Biden administration has continued to shield Israel and Netanyahu from public scrutiny as well as diplomatic isolation.

While several countries have cut ties with Israel and others have recognised Palestinian statehood, the US has continued to provide a diplomatic shield to Israel most recently by submitting an amicus brief to the ICC in opposition to a potential arrest warrant for Biden.

Congress, for its part, extended an invitation to Netanyahu to address a joint session of the legislature, despite the Israeli leader openly criticising the US government for not doing enough to support Israel’s war.

“July 24th will be remembered as a dark stain on the legacy of the 118th Congress. Inviting a war criminal to speak in our legislative halls while he is committing genocide is a new low for this body,” Mohamad Habehh, development director at American Muslims for Palestine, said in a statement shared with MEE.

“Congressional leaders have supported this genocide in Gaza in both word and deed. Not only have they excused the atrocities Israel is committing, they have passed billions of dollars in funding to enable them.”

Meanwhile, the speech is also set to take place amid a turbulent moment in US politics, as US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday he will not seek reelection, moving to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee that will face off against Donald Trump in November.

Harris herself will not be in attendance of the speech, despite one of her duties as vice president being to preside over the Senate, and will instead be on the campaign trail.

Still, despite the apparent snub by a future US president, Harris will still be holding a private meeting with Netanyahu – a move protesters say hints that not much is likely to change if Harris wins in November.

This is a developing story and will be updated throughout the day…