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 Netanyahu was invited by the Republican speaker of the house, John
Boehner, to address Congress on March 3, an invitation Boehner
originally described as bipartisan.
The move angered the White House, which is upset about the event
coming two weeks before Israeli elections and the fact that
Netanyahu, who has a testy relationship with President Obama, is
expected to be critical of U.S. policy on Iran.
"It appears that the speaker of Congress made a move, in which we
trusted, but which it ultimately became clear was a one sided move
and not a move by both sides," Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister
Tzachi Hanegbi told 102 FM Tel Aviv Radio on Friday.
The interviewer asked if that meant Netanyahu had been "misled" into
believing Boehner's invitation was bipartisan, a characterization
Hanegbi did not contest.
Asked whether the prime minister should cancel or postpone the
speech, Hanegbi said: "What would the outcome be then? The outcome
would be that we forsake an arena in which there is a going to be a
very dramatic decision (on Iran)."
The invitation has caused a furor in Washington, leading to much
criticism of Boehner by Democrats and repeated statements by Boehner
and other Republicans explaining their position.
Top Democratic lawmaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday the event was
"politicized" and she hoped it would not take place - piling
pressure on Netanyahu after the White House said it would not meet
him during the visit.
Netanyahu has denied seeking electoral gains or meddling in internal
U.S. affairs with the speech, in which he is expected to warn world
powers against agreeing to anything short of a total rollback of
Iran's nuclear program.
A Netanyahu spokesman declined to comment on Hanegbi's comments on
Friday. Hanegbi is a senior member of Netanyahu's Likud party.
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Acknowledging that Democrats had been "pained" by the invitation,
Hanegbi said Netanyahu and Israeli emissaries were making "a huge
effort to make clear to them that this is not a move that flouts the
president of the United States".
Yet Hanegbi said the address to Congress could help pass a bill,
opposed by Obama, for new U.S. sanctions on Iran.
"The Republicans know, as the president has already made clear, that
he will veto this legislation. So in order to pass legislation that
overcomes the veto, two-thirds are required in the Senate. So if the
prime minister can persuade another one or two or another three or
four, this could have weight," he said.
Hanegbi said he was not aware of any Israeli polling that showed the
speech would help Netanyahu in the March 17 election, where Likud is
running neck-and-neck against the center-left.
(Writing by Dan Williams; editing by Ralph Boulton)
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