Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told a visiting US Congressional delegation that Americans should recognise the benefits they receive from Israel, pointing to cell phones, medicines and food.

Speaking in West Jerusalem, Netanyahu pushed back against claims that Israel is isolated due to growing international criticism of its genocide in Gaza and restrictions on arms shipments.

"Some of them have stopped weapon component shipments. Can we get out of this? Yes, we can. We're pretty good at producing weapons," Netanyahu said.

"Like intelligence, we share both with the United States. A good chunk of your intel. And our weapon systems, we share with the United States."

Break this siege

He expressed appreciation for what he called "the bipartisan support in military matters to Israel in previous years, and today as well," adding: "We cherish the fact that we have the constancy of American support despite the attempts to erode it."

Turning to Israeli exports, Netanyahu asked the delegation: "Do you have cell phones? Do you have cell phones here? You're holding a piece of Israel right there. A lot of the cell phones, the medicines, the food — you eat cherry tomatoes? You know where that was made? I don't like cherry tomatoes, but it's an Israeli product, as are so many other things."

He framed these as contributions "for the betterment of all mankind and womankind" and said they show Israel "can make things, we can produce things."

Netanyahu insisted Israel would eventually achieve greater independence from foreign suppliers.

"Equally, we will eventually create the independence that we need so that those in Western Europe who think they can deny us things will not succeed. We can break this siege, and we will," he said.

His comments come as Israel faces increasing scrutiny over its genocide in Gaza, with Washington providing billions of dollars in military assistance.

Isolation over Gaza genocide

With global anger mounting over the nearly two-year genocide in Gaza, Netanyahu separately warned that Israel is facing a "kind of isolation" that could last for years, and has no choice but to stand on its own.

He said Israel’s economy would need to adapt to "autarkic characteristics" – becoming more self-sufficient and less reliant on external trade.

"It’s a word I hate," Netanyahu said, adding that it was he who had brought a "free-market revolution to Israel."

One of the key industries facing isolation is weapons trade, he said, which may force Israel to avoid reliance on foreign arms imports.

"We’ll need to develop our weapons industry — we’re going to be Athens and super Sparta combined. We have no choice, at least for the coming years when we’ll be required to deal with these isolation attempts," he said.

Global embargo

Israel now faces partial or complete arms embargoes from France, the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, Italy and others due to its crimes in Gaza.

The majority of its weapons imports, however, come from the United States, which has not imposed restrictions and has warned others against doing so.

Netanyahu partly attributed the isolation to "an extreme Islamist agenda" influencing European foreign policy, and said rival states including Qatar were shaping global discourse on social media.

"This situation threatens us with the beginnings of economic sanctions and problems importing weapons and weapon parts," he said.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called Netanyahu’s remarks "crazy," arguing that isolation is "the result of Netanyahu’s flawed and failed policy."

Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief, also said: "There will be no second chance to repair the damage caused by him and his partners who abandoned the hostages and isolated Israel in the world."

Despite the warnings, Netanyahu told critics the Israeli economy remained resilient, pointing to stock market gains and vowing to expand weapons production to avoid dependence on "weak Western European leaders."