Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has sharply criticized Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the Middle East crisis, and called for new elections to facilitate leadership change.
According to him, Netanyahu remains one of several major obstacles to restore peace in Gaza.
Speaking on the Israel-Hamas war in the Senate, the top-ranking Jewish-American Democrat said, “As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: 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 that as the war has exceeded five months, it is clear that Israelis need to take stock of the situation and change course. “At this critical juncture, I believe 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.”
Netanyahu has been “too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza,” he told the lawmakers.
The Israeli leader has been under criticism from within the country as more than 31,000 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the war broke out on October 7, and more than 200 Israelis are being held hostage by Hamas.
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