Is Kamala Harris snubbing Netanyahu by skipping Congress speech?

US vice president and favourite for the Democratic party's presidential candidate Kamala Harris will not attend the Congress speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, in what is being seen as a possible snub to the leader in the wake of the brutal Gaza war.

Harris, who is now the focal point of efforts to beat Donald Trump after President Joe Biden dramatically pulled out of the election campaign, is expected to meet Netanyahu at another point during his four-day visit to Washington DC.

Netanyahu will address a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday afternoon – a rare move for foreign leaders which he hopes to use as leverage in order to improve his political ratings at home and marks his first overseas visit since the outbreak of the war on Gaza in October.

According to US newspaper The Washington Post, Harris had not planned to attend Netanyahu’s speech prior to Biden's announcement on Sunday that he was no longer running for re-election, and instead is attending a separate event in Indianapolis.

Since Biden's announcement, the spotlight has shifted to how the vice-president from Los Angeles will approach Israel's war on Gaza which has largely divided American politics and tested its position as Israel’s oldest and closest ally.

Harris has challenged Israel's actions in Gaza on numerous occasions, describing the scale of civilian suffering as "devastating". Observers have highlighted how her National Security Advisor Phil Gordon has extensive Middle East expertise.

Dozens of progressive Democrats, who have spoken out against the war, are expected to boycott Netanyahu’s speech which will also see large pro-Palestinian protests calling for Netanyahu’s arrest on war crime charges around Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

The Israeli government said that Netanyahu would address both houses of Congress on Wednesday "to anchor the bipartisan support that is so import for Israel".

He will also be holding sideline meetings with Biden administration officials, hoping to garner support for his nine-month long war, and for a deal to release captives in Gaza which has failed to take off.

Biden and Netanyahu are expected to meet on Thursday, according to reports.

House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that anyone who disrupts the event could be arrested. The Republicans have staunchly supported Israel while criticising international court rulings that have accused the army of war crimes.

Senator Ben Cardin, chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, will oversee the event in place of Harris, broadcaster NBC News reported on Monday while senior Democrat Senator Patty Murray reportedly declined to do so.

Weighing up Democrat support

Most of the Democrats in Congress have expressed support for Harris to lead the Democratic ticket, but questions remain over whether the party’s most vocal advocates of Palestinian rights will support Harris's presidential bid.

Lawmaker Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, stopped short of fully endorsing Harris to run, instead stating that there should be a party vote calling for a US arms embargo to Israel, which amounts to $3.3 billion a year.

The Democrat Representative and Corey Bush was the first of 'The Squad' - the informal moniker given to a group of nine progressive Democrats - member to formally back Harris.

Other progressives such as Ilhan Omar endorsed Harris, as well as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both of whom have called for stronger condemnation of Israel’s war. In March Ocasio-Cortez caused a stir after saying that Palestinians were facing "an unfolding genocide in Gaza" during a speech to the House.

The Democrats have been divided over the war with many calling for the government to take a firmer line against Israel, including suspending military aid to its army.

But in general, the party voted alongside the Republicans to send billions of dollars in additional military support to Israel earlier this year, despite growing concern over the high civilian death toll and widespread destruction of Gaza.

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that White House officials have attempted to privately distance themselves from the Israeli leader’s visit, which came at the invitation of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnston.

Netanyahu last spoke to Congress in 2015 during the administration of Barak Obama in which he caused ire after criticising the then president’s support for a nuclear deal with Iran.

Earlier this week, Israeli opposition politician Yair Lapid told Israeli broadcaster Channel 13 about an unusual meeting with Harris in 2017 in which the pair sat in silence for 12 minutes after the opposition figure suggested they relax instead of attempting to discuss policies after a busy day.

Harris's step-daughter Ella Emhoff has made headlines in the past for her public support for Palestinian rights and fundraising for UNRWA, which some fear could be weaponised by the Republicans to criticise Harris.

Pro-Israel advocacy organisation J-Street expressed formal support for Harris on Monday, stating that the vice president "has been a close and true friend of both the Jewish American community and of Israel".

There are fears that pro-Israel Republicans will attempt to smear Harris as 'anti-Israel'.