As fissures show in formerly secure and amicable cooperation, US Senate majority leader Charles Schumer has urged Israel to conduct elections to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The top-ranking Jewish official in the US government, Mr. Schumer, declared on Thursday that Mr. Netanyahu had gone astray.
US officials have refrained from openly criticizing Mr. Netanyahu’s strategy over the Gaza conflict. The US’s criticism of Mr. Netanyahu’s government has sharply increased. For his 25 years in the Senate, Mr. Schumer has consistently supported Israel. He cautioned that the deaths in Gaza run the risk of making Israel a “pariah.”
In a Senate speech, Senator Joe Schumer, a long-time supporter of Israel, harshly criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel. Schumer argued that Israel must make “course corrections” and take steps to better protect civilians in Gaza. Israel’s leaders, including Netanyahu’s Likud party, criticized the senator’s remarks, stating that Israel is not a “banana republic” and that the prime minister’s policies are supported by a large majority. Israel’s ambassador in Washington, Michael Herzog, also attacked the remarks, writing on X that it was “unhelpful” and “counterproductive” to comment on the domestic political scene of a democratic ally.
Washington leaders from both parties, including President Joe Biden, have mostly refrained from criticising how Netanyahu has handled the conflict, which began when Hamas gunmen stormed into southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 others hostage. Concerns have been mounting within the Biden administration and among some members of his own party over Israel’s handling of the war.
Cracks began to publicly emerge between the two governments recently weeks, with President Biden warning Israel against expanding its invasion into the city of Rafah, which he called a “red line.” In his State of the Union address last week, Mr. Biden also called Israel’s response in the territory “over the top”.
The White House distanced itself from Schumer’s comments on Thursday, stating that administration officials were focused on working with Israel on its defense. More than 30,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women, have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, with the actual number likely to be far higher as the count does not include those who have not reached hospitals.
Schumer said that as a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice. He added that a fresh debate about the future of Israel should be held by holding an election. Israel is next due to hold a general election by October 2026.
For peace talks to advance, Schumer said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas must also step down, as his government has not held elections since 2006. On Wednesday, Abbas appointed his former adviser as prime minister. Schumer’s comments prompted a rebuke from outgoing Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, who called the 40-minute speech “grotesque” and “unprecedented.”
Opinion polls show most Israelis support the war, but one survey released in January suggested just 15% of voters wanted Netanyahu to remain in office once the conflict ends. The US revealed sanctions against three more settlers and for the first time against two Israeli settlement outposts it accused of undermining stability in the occupied West Bank.
(BBC)
