Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is getting no love from Democrats on Capitol Hill in the wake of Senator Schumer’s call for new elections in the Jewish state. Republicans, on the other hand, are doing everything in their power to get the premier to Capitol Hill to make his case for the ongoing military operation at Gaza. 

One senior House Republican source tells the Sun that several lawmakers want Mr. Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress in the coming weeks, but there are “no specifics yet.”

Speaker Johnson told reporters on Wednesday that he had spoken with the prime minister earlier that morning and that he was considering inviting him to Washington. 

“It’s one of the things that we have in mind, and we may try to arrange for that,” Mr. Johnson said. “I think it’s very important for us to show solidarity and support for Israel right now in their time of great struggle, and we certainly stand for that position, and we’ll try to advance that in every way that we can.

“I had a lengthy conversation this morning with Prime Minister Netanyahu and reiterated to him the House Republicans’ strong support for Israel,” the speaker added. 

Also on Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu addressed a closed-door meeting of Senate Republicans via video conference. Senator Cornyn posted an image on X of the prime minister speaking with lawmakers. 

Senator Hawley told reporters after the call that Mr. Netanyahu sees this war coming to a close sooner rather than later. “By far, the greatest part of their operations are finished,” the prime minister asserted, according to Mr. Hawley. “He clearly wanted to give the impression that they’re nearing the end here.”

Punchbowl News first reported on Wednesday that Mr. Netanyahu had asked Mr. Schumer to address the Senate Democrats as well, but that request was denied. “When you make these issues partisan, you hurt the cause of Israel,” Mr. Schumer told reporters at the Capitol. “I gave this speech out of a real love for Israel.”

Democrats have grown increasingly frustrated with the Israeli prime minister since he began pitching the idea of launching military operations at the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The Israeli war cabinet — not just Mr. Netanyahu — says it is necessary to go into the city in order to root out Hamas. 

President Biden and Mr. Netanyahu spoke on the phone on Tuesday for the first time in more than a month. According to a White House readout of the call, Mr. Biden pushed Mr. Netanyahu to hold off on conducting any Rafah operation amid ongoing hostage negotiations with Hamas. 

“The President reiterated his deep concerns about the prospect of Israel conducting a major ground operation in Rafah, where more than one million displaced civilians are currently seeking shelter after fleeing fighting in the north,” the White House said in a statement. “The President affirmed the need to defeat Hamas in Gaza while also protecting the civilian population and facilitating the safe and unhindered delivery of assistance throughout Gaza.”

The Israeli government will send a delegation to Washington in the coming weeks to discuss any future military operations with Biden administration officials, according to the White House. 

The last time Mr. Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress was in 2015, when he came to Washington to warn lawmakers about the perils of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, negotiated by the Obama administration. Mr. Netanyahu came at the invitation of Speaker Boehner. 

Several Democrats vented their frustration that Mr. Netanyahu was trying to go around President Obama in an overtly political maneuver. One Democratic congressman, John Yarmuth, said at the time that Mr. Netanyahu’s 2015 address was an “insult” to Mr. Obama. 

“I resented the condescending tone that he used, which basically indicated that he didn’t think anybody in Congress or the country understood the threat that a nuclear, weaponized Iran poses to his country, to the region, and to the world,” Mr. Yarmuth told Politico after that address.