Senate Leader Schumer Criticizes Israel's Netanyahu

Via Syndicated Feed

Cover Image Attribute: The file photo of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at the Capitol on October 4, 2023. / Getty Images

The top-ranking Jewish politician in the United States, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, urged Israel to hold fresh elections on Thursday, claiming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had "lost his way" in the nation's bombardment of Gaza.

Schumer, a longtime supporter of the Jewish state, warned Netanyahu that he runs the risk of turning his nation into a global pariah.

More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israel's counteroffensive since Hamas killed 1,200 people in a shocking attack on October 7 and kidnapped approximately 240 others, according to the health ministry operated by Hamas. The 2.1 million residents of the enclave have been forced to flee their homes and structures due to the violence.

Israel's air and ground assault on the slender region along the Mediterranean Sea, according to Congress's top Democrat, Benjamin Schumer, has shown that Israel is "too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows."

He stated that the "Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past."

"As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we should let the chips fall where they may,” Schumer stated. The fact that Israelis have an option, though, is crucial. After October 7, there should be a new discussion regarding Israel's destiny.

"In my opinion, that is best accomplished by holding an election," he stated.

The Israel-Hamas conflict, which is currently in its sixth month, has been calling for an urgent cease-fire, but US President Joe Biden has disregarded these demands. However, Biden—a steadfast supporter of Israel—has been pressuring Netanyahu to manage his nation's assault on Hamas for weeks to reduce civilian losses, negotiate the conditions of a six-week ceasefire, and free more hostages.

During a heated exchange with lawmakers following his State of the Union speech last week, Biden made a bold commitment to "come to Jesus" over Netanyahu's handling of the conflict.

However, negotiations about the temporary ceasefire in Cairo collapsed last week.

White House national security spokeswoman John Kirby stated following Schumer's Senate address that U.S. policy toward the conflict—which has included arming Israel—would not alter immediately.

“Stay focused on making sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself while doing everything that they can to avoid civilian casualties and, of course, we're still focused — laser focused — on trying to get a temporary cease-fire in place so that we can get the hostages out and get more aid into Gaza for famished Palestinians,” Kirby stated.

The leading Republican in the Senate, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, chastised Schumer for his recommendation that Israel have fresh elections.

McConnell stated, "It is grotesque and hypocritical for Americans who get all worked up about foreign meddling in our own democracy to call for the removal of Israel's democratically elected leader."

He declared, "This is unprecedented." "This is not how we should treat other democracies at all."

According to Schumer, among the many impediments to the US-favored two-state solution is Netanyahu, who has long opposed Palestinian statehood. Schumer also pointed the finger at Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, and right-wing Israelis.

Until one of them plays a major role, according to Schumer, "there will never be peace in Israel and Gaza and the West Bank."

Schumer's unusually frank demand for a fresh election may or may not be met with a favorable reception in Israel. The following parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2026 but may occur earlier.

The address was deemed "counterproductive to our common goals" by Israel's ambassador to the US, Michael Herzog, on the social networking site X, which was formerly known as Twitter.

Herzog declared, "Israel is a sovereign democracy. It is unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal terror organization Hamas, to comment on the domestic political scene of a democratic ally."

Many Israelis blame Netanyahu for not intervening to stop Hamas' October cross-border raid, but the Israeli premier has declined to comment on security lapses and stated that any thorough investigation of October 7 security lapses must wait until the conflict is over. 

IndraStra Global Staff has not edited this story, which is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.

IndraStra Global is now available on
Apple News, Google News, Feedly, Flipboard, and  WhatsApp Channel

COPYRIGHT: This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

REPUBLISH: Republish our articles online or in print for free if you follow these guidelines. https://www.indrastra.com/p/republish-us.html