Between occasional standing ovations and routine applauses, US Congress gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an excessively warm welcome that was reiterated almost 40 times in less than an hour.

Regardless of what Netanyahu was saying, whether it was taking a jab at the International Criminal Court, spewing repeatedly debunked claims surrounding the war on Gaza and "Israel's" behavior throughout, or comparing Hamas' operation on October 7 to 9/11, his words were met with applause. 

While Congress interrupted Netanyahu's speech 39 times to clap and give the Prime Minister a standing ovation, Mondoweiss's Ben Norton said to describe the speech as "well received" would be a criminal understatement. 

Out of the 39 applauses, 23 were standing ovations. In minutes, out of the 40 minutes and 30 seconds during which Netanyahu stood at the podium, 10 minutes and 55 seconds consisted of clapping. Statistically, over one-fourth, or 27% of Netanyahu's speech was applause.

Ben Norton breaks down Netanyahu's speech

The author of the comedic critique of the congressmen's behavior dissected the speech and every moment of interruption.

Netanyahu was initially welcomed with a six-second applause. Until minute 6:26, Netanyahu was applauded 11 times, five of which were standing ovations. Out of the 6:26 minutes, 2:14 of them, or 35%, consisted of clapping, standing, and sitting back down. 

In the four minutes between 11:26 and 15:25, Congress applauded Netanyahu four times, once every minute on average. Three out of four times, or 75%, were standing ovations. 

In the last 14 minutes of Netanyahu's speech, between minutes 25:37 and 40:30, Congress applauded Netanyahu 24 times, 15 of which were standing ovations. On average, 7:35 minutes of the last 14:53 minutes, or 51%, were solely clapping and standing ovations.

‘Arrest the child killer’

While US politicians and decision-makers were blindly flattering Netanyahu, demonstrators gathered outside Capitol Hill to denounce his visit and protest the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza. 

Hundreds of demonstrators had gathered, waving banners and chanting slogans against Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden.

Police used pepper spray on some of the thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters who gathered outside the US Capitol on Wednesday while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Congress.

The protesters are demanding the arrest of Netanyahu for committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Among their other demands is an end to the genocidal war in Gaza and a halt to all arms supplies to “Israel”, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in the US.

Activists even dyed multiple fountains around Capitol Hill with red and projections cast demanding the arrest of Netanyahu.

Read more: Fact-checking Netanyahu's lies about Gaza in Congress speech