The leader of the Democratic majority in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer – the highest-ranking legislator of the Jewish religion – has launched strong criticism this Thursday against the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he has accused of being an “obstacle to the peace” in the Middle East. In a speech in the plenary session of the Upper House, Schumer has called for elections to be held in the allied country to replace the head of Government. His words have sparked indignation among Netanyahu’s supporters in Israel: “Israel is not a banana republic,” replied the Likud party, the main party in the coalition leading the country.
According to Schumer, Netanyahu “has lost his way” by allying himself with the Israeli extreme right to govern and putting “his political survival before the good of Israel.” “As a result,” the Democratic senator denounces, “he has been too willing to tolerate the deaths of civilians in Gaza, which is something that is precipitating [la caída de] support for Israel around the world at the lowest levels in history.”
“Israel cannot survive if it becomes an international pariah,” said the Democratic majority leader in the Senate. “Netanyahu’s coalition no longer fits Israel’s needs after October 7. The world has changed radically since then and the Israeli people are being suffocated by a vision of government stuck in the past,” Schumer said.
The Democratic legislator’s speech represents the biggest public criticism so far from a politician close to the Administration in the United States against Netanyahu since the war in Gaza began in October, and is a sign that “something is moving” in public opinion. and the Government in Washington “about what is happening in the Strip,” according to a senior European official. The spokesman for the US National Security Council, John Kirby, has refused to comment on the content of the speech in a telephone press conference, but has confirmed that Schumer notified the White House of his plans for his intervention. .
The Likud party, led by Netanyahu for decades and in power for more than 20 years, has responded to Schumer that Israel “is not a banana republic, but an independent and proud democracy” that elected that politician to be at the helm. front of the country. “Netanyahu leads a determined policy that has the support of a large majority of the people,” the right-wing party stated.
“Contrary to Schumer’s words, the Israeli public supports a complete victory over Hamas, rejects any international diktat to establish a Palestinian terrorist state, and opposes the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza,” added the Likud statement, which is also the main party in the Israeli government coalition.
Growing unrest against Netanyahu
Schumer’s words highlight a growing Democratic unrest against Netanyahu and the way in which the Israeli Government has conducted the offensive in Gaza after the attacks by the radical Palestinian militia Hamas and the kidnapping of more than 230 hostages. So far, more than 31,000 Palestinians have died in Israeli bombings, and the Strip’s population of 2.3 million faces imminent famine due to Israeli obstacles to allowing the entry of humanitarian aid. 1,200 people died in the Hamas attacks, according to official Israeli figures.
US President Joe Biden has admitted that the Israeli response “has been excessive.” In recent days, he has warned that an offensive against the southern Gaza city of Rafah, home to 1.4 million Palestinians, would represent a “red line” that Netanyahu’s government should not cross. The United States is planning the construction of a dock for the distribution of humanitarian aid and has been air-dropping aid packages for two weeks.
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