Netanyahu’s comments came as the United States is developing a new proposal for a cease-fire and hostage release, hoping to break a long deadlock and bring an end to the nearly 11-month-old war.

The question of Israeli control of the Philadelphi corridor –- a narrow strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt, seized by troops in May –- has become a central obstacle in the talks. Hamas has demanded an eventual full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in the multi-phase truce deal.

Egypt, a mediator in the talks along with the U.S. and Qatar, has also demanded a concrete timeline for Israeli troops to leave the Philadelphi corridor. And on Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates, which established formal ties with Israel in the 2020 Abraham Accords, also criticized the Israeli stance.

Speaking to foreign journalists, Netanyahu repeated his stance that Israel must maintain its hold on the border to prevent Hamas from rearming by smuggling weapons into Gaza. He said it was a vital part of the war goal of ensuring Hamas cannot repeat its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

“Gaza must be demilitarized, and this can only happen if the Philadelphi corridor remains under firm control,” he said, claiming Israeli troops had discovered dozens of tunnels under the border.

He said Israel would only consider withdrawing from the corridor when presented with an alternative force to police it.

“Bring me anyone who will actually show us … that they can actually prevent the recurrence” of smuggling, he said. “I don’t see that happening right now. And until that happens, we’re there.”

Families of remaining hostages have stepped up their demands that he agree to a deal after Hamas killed six hostages last week as Israeli troops appeared to be moving to rescue them. In angry public statements, hostage families have accused Netanyahu of blocking a deal and potentially sacrificing their loved ones’ lives for the sake of holding the border strip. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in recent days, calling for a deal and saying time is running out to bring home the hostages alive.

Netanyahu pushed back against the pressure, saying his stance was necessary to “ensure Hamas doesn’t pose a threat to Israel.”

“I can understand the torment of families,” he said. “But the responsibility of leaders is not merely to share the sentiment, the emotion, but also to exercise judgment.”

Asked by journalists for a timeline on ending the war, he refused to give one. “How long can we do this? As long as it takes to achieve this victory. And I think we’re getting a lot closer,” he said.

Netanyahu repeatedly insisted holding the border would also pressure Hamas to release hostages. At one point, he erroneously claimed the invasion of Rafah in May forced Hamas’ first release of hostages – which took place months earlier in November under a weeklong ceasefire deal. He then said the deal was “the result of our invasion, the military pressure we put on them.”

The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported early Thursday that an Israeli drone strike killed five men and wounded another in a car in Tubas in the West Bank.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it carried out “three targeted strikes on armed terrorists that posed a threat on the soldiers,” without immediately elaborating. For more than a week, hundreds of Israeli forces have been carrying out the deadliest operation in the occupied West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began.

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In a speech in which he angrily pushed back on criticism of Israel’s conduct of the war that has cleaved the Democratic Party and disrupted American college campuses, Mr. Netanyahu linked Israel’s security directly to that of the United States, insisting: “We’re not only protecting ourselves; we’re protecting you.”

“Our enemies are your enemies; our fight is your fight; and our victory will be your victory,” Mr. Netanyahu said, emphasizing the strategic role of Israel in countering Iran.

The fact of Mr. Netanyahu’s speech was almost as notable as anything he said. In the face of increasing international censure and dissent both in Israel and in the United States, Mr. Netanyahu was seeking to use Congress to lift his sagging political fortunes — and leaders in both parties obliged with a bipartisan invitation to receive him.

But in the House chamber as he spoke, there was clear evidence of how the longstanding bipartisan consensus to back Israel has eroded in Congress since the Hamas attack of Oct. 7 and the offensive in Gaza that followed. Dozens of Democratic members, including two top senators and Representative Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker, boycotted the speech. Vice President Kamala Harris declined to preside, as is traditional for the vice president, citing a scheduling conflict.

And Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan and the first Palestinian American member of Congress, held up a sign as Mr. Netanyahu spoke that read “war criminal” on one side and “guilty of genocide” on the other.

Outside, more than 5,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators massed on streets near the Capitol, some wearing Palestinian kaffiyehs, chanting for the United States to stop arming Israel. As they hoisted signs calling Mr. Netanyahu a “war criminal” and the “prime minister of genocide,” some clashed with police who used pepper spray to disperse the crowd and a few burned an effigy of him.

Inside the House chamber, the standing ovations Mr. Netanyahu received were mostly partisan, as Republicans applauded loudly and Democrats hung back, some clapping and others sitting silently and stone-faced. The speech appeared to be aimed at an Israeli audience to demonstrate that his leadership is critical for the state’s well-being and its future.

The bipartisan split in support for him is deeply concerning for Israel’s future, experts said.

“The one adhesive that has maintained the resilience of the relationship is bipartisanship,” said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator and adviser in Republican and Democratic administrations. “That is under extreme stress.”

He added: “If you have a Republican view and two or three Democratic views about what it means to be pro-Israel, the nature of the relationship is going to change.”

Mr. Netanyahu appeared aware of those politics in trying to strike a bipartisan tone.

He emphasized that Israel is a strategic asset and deserves America’s support, in a speech in which he praised both President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump. He did not mention Ms. Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, whom he is set to meet later this week.

“He came to Israel to be with us in our darkest hour,” Mr. Netanyahu said of Mr. Biden, thanking him for being a self-proclaimed “proud Irish American Zionist.”

In a roughly hourlong address, Mr. Netanyahu graphically described what happened on Oct. 7, when 3,000 Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel. “They burned babies alive,” he said.

And he placed the war in context with the struggles of Jews throughout history, including the Holocaust. “After Oct. 7, ‘Never Again’ is now,” he said, emphasizing the historical right of the Jewish people to the land of Israel.

In a nod to the deep political divisions the war has sown in the United States, Mr. Netanyahu condemned Americans who have protested his tactics — including large swaths of the Democratic Party — equating criticism of his conduct of the war with sympathy for terrorists.

“Many choose to stand with evil, they stand with Hamas, they stand with rapists and murderers,” Mr. Netanyahu said of pro-Palestinian protesters. “They should be ashamed of themselves.”

He received raucous cheers for calling the protesters outside “Tehran’s useful idiots.”

“For all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now, outside this building,” he added.

Above all, Mr. Netanyahu sought to claim the moral high ground as he spoke to lawmakers, thanking them for their support against Hamas.

“Give us the tools faster and we’ll finish the job faster,” Mr. Netanyahu said.

He wore a yellow ribbon in honor of the hostages, even though experts in the region said he was more responsible than anyone else in the country for blocking a deal that would bring them home, because of his own political calculations. He singled out Israeli soldiers seated in the chamber for their heroism, including one who immigrated from Ethiopia and one from Israel’s Bedouin community.

“These are the soldiers of Israel — undaunted, unbowed, unafraid,” he said.

Mr. Netanyahu’s visit was fraught for Democrats, some of whom wanted to show support for the state of Israel while at the same time criticizing its current leader. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, did not shake hands with Mr. Netanyahu when he entered the chamber.

“Benjamin Netanyahu is the worst leader in Jewish history since the Maccabean king who invited the Romans into Jerusalem over 2,100 years ago,” Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York, said in a statement ahead of the speech. Still, he sat in the chamber, and rose to applaud Mr. Netanyahu throughout his speech.

Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel advocacy group, immediately criticized the speech for what it failed to do. “The speech was devoid of an actual plan for ending the war and bringing real security and peace to the region,” he said in a statement. “His empty calls for ‘total victory’ are simply an illusion as there is no military solution to the underlying conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.”

A few Republicans also did not attend.

Senator JD Vance of Ohio, Mr. Trump’s running mate, was on the campaign trail. Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, said that he would not attend the speech, denouncing the event as “political theater.” In a social media post, Mr. Massie said “the purpose of having Netanyahu address Congress is to bolster his political standing in Israel.”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally spoke Friday after a glaring, nearly four-week gap in direct communication during which fundamental differences have come into focus over a possible pathway to Palestinian statehood once the fighting in Gaza ends.

Biden and his top aides have all but smothered Netanyahu with robust support, even in the face of global condemnation over the mounting civilian death toll and humanitarian suffering in Gaza as the Israelis have carried out military operations in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

But the leaders’ relationship has increasingly shown signs of strain as Netanyahu has repeatedly rebuffed Biden’s calls for Palestinian sovereignty, gumming up what the U.S. president believes is the key to unlocking a durable peace in the Middle East — the oft-cited, elusive two-state solution.

Neither side shows signs of budging.

Friday’s phone call came one day after Netanyahu said that he has told U.S. officials in plain terms that he will not support a Palestinian state as part of any post-war plan. Biden, for his part, in Friday’s call reaffirmed his commitment to work toward helping the Palestinians move toward statehood.

“As we’re talking about post-conflict Gaza … you can’t do that without also talking about the aspirations of the Palestinian people and what that needs to look like for them,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

The leaders spoke frequently in the first weeks of the war. But the regular cadence of calls between Biden and Netanyahu, who have had a hot-and-cold relationship for over three decades, has slowed considerably. Their 30- to 40-minute call on Friday was their first conversation since Dec. 23.

Both sides are hemmed in by domestic political considerations.

The chasm between Biden, a center-left Democrat, and Netanyahu, who leads the most conservative government in Israel’s history, has expanded as pressure mounts on the United States to use its considerable leverage to press Israel to wind down a war that has already killed nearly 25,000 Palestinians.

There is also growing impatience with Netanyahu in Israel over the lack of progress in freeing dozens of hostages still held by Islamic militants in Gaza.

“There is certainly a reason to be concerned,” says Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israeli relations at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, “The more and more we see political considerations dominating the relationship between Biden and Netanyahu, which is likely to continue because of the upcoming presidential election and the weakness of both leaders, the more we will see them pulling apart.”

In their most recent calls, Biden’s frustration with Netanyahu has grown more evident, even though the U.S. leader has been careful to reaffirm his support for Israel at each step, according to U.S. officials who requested anonymity to discuss the leaders’ private interactions.

Yet, Biden, at least publicly, has not given up on the idea of winning over Netanyahu. Asked by a reporter on Friday if a two-state solution is impossible while Netanyahu is in office, Biden replied, “No, it’s not.”

Aides insist Biden understands the political box Netanyahu finds himself in with his hard-right coalition and as he deals with ongoing corruption charges that have left the prime minister fighting for his freedom, not just his political future.

Biden, meanwhile, faces American voters in November, in a likely rematch with former President Donald Trump. Netanyahu and Trump forged a close relationship during the Republican’s term in office. Biden faces criticism from some on his left who believe he hasn’t pushed the Israelis hard enough to demonstrate restraint as it carries out military operations.

Key Democratic lawmakers, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, this week warned that Netanyahu’s position on statehood could complicate negotiations in the Senate on a spending package that includes military aid for Israel.

Expect Netanyahu to “use every trick that he has to keep his coalition together and avoid elections and play out the clock,” said Michael Koplow, chief policy officer at the Israel Policy Forum. ”And I’m sure that part of it is a conviction that if he waits until November, he may end up with Donald Trump back in the Oval Office.”

In recent weeks, some of the more difficult conversations have been left to Ron Dermer, a top aide to Netanyahu and former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., and Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. The two top aides talk almost daily — sometimes multiple times during a day, according to a U.S. and an Israeli official, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Other senior Biden administration officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, as well as senior advisers Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein have been at the forefront of the administration’s push to engage the Israelis, and other Middle East allies, as the Biden-Netanyahu dialogue has become less constructive.

Netanyahu, who has opposed calls for a two-state solution throughout his political career, told reporters this week that he flatly told U.S. officials he remains opposed to any post-war plan that includes establishment of a Palestinian state.

The prime minister’s latest rejection of Biden’s push in that direction came after Blinken this week said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Israel and its Middle East neighbors had “a profound opportunity” to solve the generational Israel-Palestinian conflict. Asked if he thought Netanyahu was up to making the most of the moment, Blinken demurred.

“Look, these are decisions for Israelis to make,” Blinken said. “This is a profound decision for the country as a whole to make: What direction does it want to take? Does it see – can it seize – the opportunity that we believe is there?”

The Biden-Netanyahu relationship has seen no shortage of peaks and valleys over the years. As vice president, Biden privately criticized Netanyahu after the the Israeli leader embarrassed President Barack Obama by approving the construction of 1,600 new apartments in disputed East Jerusalem in the middle of Biden’s 2010 visit to Israel.

Netanyahu publicly resisted, before eventually relenting to, Biden’s calls on the Israelis to wind down a May 2021 military operation in Gaza. And in late 2019, during a question and answer session with voters on the campaign trail, Biden called Netanyahu an “extreme right” leader.

The path to a two-state solution — one in which Israel would co-exist with an independent Palestinian state — has eluded U.S. presidents and Middle East diplomats for decades.

But as the war grinds on, Biden and his team have pressed the notion that there is a new dynamic in the Middle East in which Israel’s Arab and Muslim neighbors stand ready to integrate Israel into the region once the war ends but only if Israel commits to a pathway to a Palestinian state.

Biden has proposed that a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank, could run Gaza once combat ends. Netanyahu has roundly rejected the idea of putting the Palestinian Authority, which is beset by corruption, in charge of the territory.

Netanyahu argues that a Palestinian state would become a launchpad for attacks on Israel. So Israel “must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River,” Netanyahu said. “That collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can we do?”

White House officials have sought to play down Netanyahu’s public rejection of Biden’s call for a two-state solution, noting that the prime minister’s rhetoric is not new.

They hold out hope Israel could eventually come around to accepting a Palestinian state that comes with strong security guarantees for Israel.

“I don’t think Biden has any illusions about Netanyahu,” said Daniel Kurtzer, who served as U.S. ambassador to Egypt during the Bill Clinton administration and to Israel under George W. Bush. “But I don’t think he’s ready to slam the door on him. And that’s because he gets the intersection between the policy and the politics.”

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