Benjamin Netanyahu is addressing Congress
AP Photo/Cliff Owen
The speech was arranged on the initiative of House Speaker John Boehner. It was not authorized by the executive branch. President Barack Obama, vice president Joe Biden, Secretary of State Joe Biden, and nearly 60 Congressional democrats will not be in attendance.
He began by acknowledging that his speech has been "the subject of some controversy" and says he regrets that the speech has been seen by some as "deeply political."
Early in the speech, Netanyahu praised Obama for his assistance to Israel, likely to head off claims that the speech is primarily aimed at undermining his Iran policies.
"Israel and the US share a common destiny," the prime minister said, saying that he was grateful for the support of US presidents "ranging from Harry Truman to Barack Obama. He lauded the US president for intelligence sharing and opposing anti-Israel resolutions at the US, and specifically cited the US's aid in fighting a forest fire in northern Israel in 2010 and providing funding for the Iron Dome missile interceptor system. "In each of those moments, I called the president and he was there," said Netanyahu.
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