US Senate leader Chuck Schumer calls for ‘new election’ in Israel, calls Netanyahu obstacle to peace
The leader of the US Senate called Thursday for Israel to hold new elections in the most strident criticism yet by a senior American official of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza.
The remarks from Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking elected Jewish-American in history, came amid increased pressure from US President Joe Biden over the mounting death toll in the conflict, sparked by the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants.
“As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we should let the chips fall where they may. But the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice,” said Schumer, the head of the chamber’s Democratic majority, without suggesting a timeline for a vote.
“There needs to be a fresh debate about the future of Israel after October 7.”
Schumer said Netanyahu was one of four “major obstacles” to a two-state solution and peace, alongside Hamas and its Palestinian supporters, radical right-wing Israelis and the Palestinian Authority’s leader Mahmoud Abbas.
He accused the Israeli leader of surrounding himself with right-wing extremists and being “too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows”.
“Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah,” Schumer, an outspoken ally of the Israeli government who visited the country just days after the attacks, told colleagues on the Senate floor.
He warned that if Netanyahu’s coalition continued to pursue “dangerous and inflammatory” policies after the war, the United States would look at playing “a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course”.
Israel’s Netanyahu says Hamas leaders ‘are all dead men’
Israel’s Netanyahu says Hamas leaders ‘are all dead men’
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that Schumer had given the White House advance notice about the speech, but that it had not given disapproval or approval or edited in anyway.
“We fully respect his right to say those remarks and decide for himself what he’s going to say on the Senate floor,” Kirby told reporters.
Asked if Washington thinks Israel should hold elections after the war, Kirby said: “That’s up to the Israelis.”
A spokesperson from the Israeli prime minister’s office said there was “no comment for now”. Netanyahu’s Likud party said that Israel was not a banana republic and that Netanyahu’s policy had wide public support.
“Contrary to Schumer’s words, the Israeli public supports a total victory over Hamas, rejects any international dictates to establish a Palestinian terrorist state, and opposes the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza,” the Likud statement said. “Senator Schumer is expected to respect Israel’s elected government and not undermine it. This is always true, and even more so in wartime.”
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Israeli forces open fire on crowd of Palestinians seeking aid,, as Gaza death toll surpasses 30,000
Israeli forces open fire on crowd of Palestinians seeking aid,, as Gaza death toll surpasses 30,000
The conflict began on October 7 last year when Hamas militants attacked Israel, resulting in about 1,160 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse count based on official figures.
The militants also seized about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, dozens of whom were released during a week-long truce in November. Israel believes about 130 of the captives remain in Gaza and that 32 are dead.
Vowing to destroy Hamas after the October 7 attack, Israel has carried out a relentless campaign of bombardment and ground operations in Gaza, killing at least 31,341 people, most of them civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry.
The United Nations is warning of famine amid hampered efforts to get more aid into the war-devastated Gaza Strip, and desperate residents have stormed relief shipments.
What is the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict?
What is the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict?
Mediators failed to reach a truce between Israel and Hamas militants for the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, which started on Monday, and Hamas authorities have since reported more than 40 air strikes across Gaza.
Daily aid airdrops by multiple nations have been taking place but the air and sea missions are not seen as adequate, and the UN has reported difficulty in accessing Gaza’s north with aid.
“The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. The world has changed radically since then and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past,” Schumer said.
“Nobody expects Prime Minister Netanyahu to do the things that must be done to break the cycle of violence, preserve Israel’s credibility on the world stage, and work towards a two-state solution.”
Schumer also called for the resignation of Abbas, who he said had evaded the democratic process and achieved few of his self-proclaimed goals, overseeing a corrupt Palestinian Authority that was inciting instability.
Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell described Schumer’s call for new elections in Israel as “grotesque and hypocritical”, given Democrats’ concerns about foreign interference in US elections.
“The Jewish state of Israel deserves an ally that acts like one,” he said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
