Leading Senate Democrat Schumer Calls for New Elections in Israel, Saying Netanyahu Has ‘Lost His Way’

The Democratic leader of the U.S. Senate, Senator Schumer, is calling on Israel to hold new elections, saying that the current prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has “lost his way,” citing the ongoing Israeli offensive at Gaza.In a copy of a speech that Mr. Schumer is expected to give on the floor of the Senate Thursday, obtained by the Associated Press, Mr. Schumer lays out sharp criticism of Mr. Netanyahu and his government.Mr. Schumer is expected to say that Mr. Netanyahu has aligned himself with a coalition of far-right extremists and that “as a result, he has been 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,” Mr. Schumer is expected to say.Mr. Schumer’s Republican rival in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, was sharply critical of the Democrat’s comments, calling them “unprecedented.”“It is grotesque and hypocritical for Americans who hyperventilate about foreign interference in our own democracy to call for the removal of the democratically elected leader of Israel,” Mr. McConnell said on the Senate floor. “Things that upset left-wing activists are not a prime minister’s policies, they are Israel’s policies.”“Make no mistake, the Democratic Party doesn’t have an anti-Bibi problem,” he added. “It has an anti-Israel problem.”Democratic leaders in Washington have begun to push back on Mr. Netanyahu’s leadership and have begun airdropping humanitarian aid into Gaza. President Biden also announced that he was ordering the construction of a temporary pier to deliver assistance to Gazan civilians.Mr. Schumer, a vocal ally of Israel in the American government and the highest ranking Jewish American elected official, is expected to say that the “Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.”Mr. Schumer is expected to say that Mr. Netanyahu and members of his government, one of Israel’s most conservative governments ever, are obstacles to a two state solution. He is also expected to lay blame at the feet of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.Mr. Schumer is expected to say that “a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel, at a time when so many Israelis have lost their confidence in the vision and direction of their government.”In Israel’s most recent election, in November 2022, Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party edged out its Atid party rivals, winning 32 seats in parliament. Along with his coalition partners, he enjoys a substantial majority in the Knesset.

Leading Senate Democrat Schumer Calls for New Elections in Israel, Saying Netanyahu Has ‘Lost His Way’

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