Netanyahu vows to combat what he calls ‘vilification against Israel' online
'I think there's been a concerted effort to spread vilification and demonization against Israel on social media,' the Israeli prime minister told journalists on Capitol Hill after being asked to respond to opinion polls showing a move away from the historic trend of strong backing for Israel.
'It's directed, it's funded. It is malignant. We intend to fight it, because nothing defeats lies like the truth, and we shall spread the truth for everyone to see once people are exposed to the facts, we win hands down. That's what we intend to do in the coming months and years.'
Netanyahu's comments came during a visit to Congress, where he met the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson.
They also followed the recent victory of Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary race for the mayor of New York, which commentators believe was partly fueled by the candidate's vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of Israel's military offensive in Gaza.
A range of surveys have shows a marked decline in support for Israel among Democratic-leaning voters amid rising disquiet about the impact of the war in the now devastated coastal territory. The ongoing war has killed about 60,000 people – most of them Palestinians – and has seen much of the population threatened with starvation.
A Gallup poll in March showed less than half of the US public sympathized with Israel's position, the lowest figure recorded since the organization started taking surveys on the issue. Among Democrat voters, 38% sympathize with the Palestinians over the Israelis, a reversal of a 2013 Gallup survey, which saw Democrats sympathizing with Israelis by a margin of 36%.
Other polls have shown similar trends, raising concerns for the future of the traditional strong bipartisan US support for Israel.
The Israeli leader said his government had accepted a proposal from Qatari mediators for a fresh ceasefire with Hamas, saying it matched what had been proposed by Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's Middle East envoy.
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Witkoff, speaking at a cabinet meeting earlier on Tuesday, had spelled out the terms of a proposed deal to broker a 60-day ceasefire he hoped would be in place by the end of the week, saying it would involve the release of Israeli hostages.
'Ten live hostages will be released, nine deceased will be released,' Witkoff said. 'We're meeting at the president's direction with all the hostage families to let them know, and we think that this will lead to a lasting peace.'
Netanyahu said: 'We accepted a proposal that came from the mediators. It's a good proposal. It matches Steve Witkoff's original idea and we think that we've gotten closer to it, and I hope we can cross the line.'
He also said he expected to meet the US president again during his current visit, his third to Washington since Trump was inaugurated in January. The two met at the White House on Monday evening, when Netanyahu presented Trump with a letter nominating him for a Nobel peace prize.
Netanyahu said the the military coordination with Washington during Israel's recent 12-day war with Iran, which resulted in repeated strikes on Tehran's nuclear facilities, was unprecedented.
'In the entire 77 years of Israeli history, there has never been the degree of coordination of cooperation and trust between America and Israel as we have today,' he said. 'And I credit President Trump with this extraordinary achievement.'
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