Israeli PM heads for U.S. Congress speech amid criticism

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Sunday morning for Washington D.C. to speak in front of U.S. Congress on Iran's nuclear program.

The upcoming speech on March 3 drew a lot of criticism and could be considered as one of the most contentious visits by an Israeli leader in the United States in recent history.

Netanyahu, who views a nuclear Iran as an existential threat to the state of Israel, said prior to his departure that he will act as an "emissary of the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people."

The P5+1 group, namely the U.S., U.K., China, France, Russia and Germany, has been negotiating with Iran over its nuclear plan since mid-2013, and hope to reach a final agreement by the end of March.

Whereas the U.S. and its allies are trying to get Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for lifting the international community's economic sanctions on Iran.

Netanyahu's hardline stance demands that Iran give up its entire nuclear capabilities so it could not develop nuclear weapons.

Iran, on its part, claims its nuclear program is aimed at peaceful purposes.

The planned speech caused resentment in the White House. U.S. officials said the speech would be "destructive" to the U.S.-Israel relationship, and several dozen U.S. democrats are planning to boycott it.

U.S. President Barack Obama will not meet with Netanyahu during his visit to the U.S., nor will Secretary of State John Kerry do so.

However, Netanyahu insists that his speech is important amid the danger of nuclear Iran.

"I respect the U.S. President Barack Obama," Netanyahu said when visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

However, he reiterated that as prime minister of Israel, it's his obligation "to see to the security of Israel," therefore, "We strongly oppose the agreement being formulated with Iran and the major powers, which could endanger our very existence."

On the other hand, Israeli center-left politicians urged Netanyahu to cancel the trip, which they dubbed as political propaganda, which would hurt the U.S.-Israel relations.

"What Netanyahu interested in is his political survival and not the state of Israel," former finance minister and head of the Yesh Atid party told Channel 2 on Saturday.

Yitzhak Herzog, Chairman of the Zionist Union and Netanyahu's biggest rival in March 17 elections, reiterated his stance that Netanyahu is motivated by political motives and would cause damage to the U.S.-Israel relations.

"There's no dispute about the Iranian threat, but the speech will not help or change anything, just could cause damage," Herzog told the Ynet news website in an interview on Sunday. Endit