Washington - Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02) issued a statement after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress:

"I wholeheartedly welcomed Prime Minister Netanyahu today at the Capitol. He gave an outstanding speech and laid out his commitment to destroy Hamas in Gaza after 3,000 terrorists murdered and raped 1,200 innocent Israelis and guests on October 7 of last year. This war could end today if Hamas released the hostages and laid down their weapons. Instead, they use their own civilians as human shields with the intent of driving up the casualties to try and trick the world. The Prime Minister made clear that the real threat lies with Iran, which arms not only Hamas but also Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria and the Houthis in Yemen. Iran is our mutual enemy. The Prime Minister committed to returning Gaza to Palestinian control, but to those who are not enemies of Israel. I strongly support Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, and want to see the destruction of Hamas and the prevention of Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The Biden Administration is wrong for dragging its feet on providing the weapons needed for Israel to win and end this war quickly. The terrorists who raped and killed Israelis also hate Americans and would happily put us in the crosshairs of their weapons."