Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Wednesday in his speech to the US Congress for more weapons to speed up the fight against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and said he has no plans to occupy the Palestinian enclave. “Give us the tools faster and we’ll finish the job faster”said the prime minister, who recently criticized the administration of US President Joe Biden for blocking a shipment of bombs to Israel.

During his speech, he proposed the establishment of a new system for after the war. a demilitarized zone in the Gaza Strip administered by Palestinian civilian authorities but surrounded by an Israeli military cordon. The Israeli prime minister made no reference to the formation of a single government for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, or to the creation of an independent Palestinian state, which are the official plans of the United States.

Netanyahu was invited to his fourth speech before the US Congress by the Republican Party, in a show of support in the face of tensions unleashed between the Biden Administrationand the Israeli Government for the way it is carrying out its offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Despite being the largest ally and supplier of weapons to IsraelThe US government has been critical of Israeli bombings of densely populated areas, attacks on hospitals and restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave. The relationship was particularly strained after the deaths of World Central Kitchen workers.by Spanish chef José Andrés, in an Israeli attack and by the Israeli operation in Rafah.

Netanyahu’s visit comes at a time of political turmoil in the United States for the attempted assassination of former president and Republican candidate in the presidential elections next November, Donald Trump, and Biden’s refusal to seek re-election, who appointed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor, who was absent from the Israeli Prime Minister’s speech.