US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has called for Israel to hold elections to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as cracks appear in a once stable and friendly alliance.
Mr Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in US government, said on Thursday Mr Netanyahu had lost his way.
Leaders in Washington have avoided directly criticising Mr Netanyahu’s approach to the conflict in Gaza .It is a sharp escalation in US criticism of Mr Netanyahu’s government.Mr Schumer, who has backed Israel throughout his 25 years in the Senate, warned those casualties in Gaza risked turning Israel into a “pariah”.Speaking in the Senate on Thursday, Mr Schumer, a long-time supporter of Israel, harshly criticised the Israeli leader, who he said had come to allow “his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel”.Israel, Mr Schumer said, must make “course corrections” and take steps to better protect civilians in Gaza.Israel’s leaders were quick to reproach the senator, with Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party saying Israel is not a “banana republic” and that the prime minister’s policies are “supported by a large majority”.
“It is expected of Senator Schumer to respect Israel’s elected government and not undermine it,” the party said.
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”.
The statement from one of America’s most powerful political leaders come on the heels of pointed critiques from White House.
Washington leaders from both parties, including President Joe Biden, have mostly refrained from criticising how Mr 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.While the US remains Israel’s closest ally and biggest provider of military aid, concerns have been mounting within the Biden administration and among some members of his own party over Israel’s handling of the war.Mr Biden, who is running again for the White House, is also facing political pressures in this presidential election year.
source:bbc
