Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for new elections in Israel after labelling its prime minister and government “obstacles to peace.”
Sen. Schumer made these remarks in a 43-minute speech on the Senate floor Thursday that was dedicated toward “a pathway to peace and achieving a two-state solution.” Schumer said that Netanyahu’s government, which was democratically elected, must be dissolved and a new election must be held. (RELATED: Biden Admin Greenlights Access To $10 Billion For Iran: REPORT)
Today, I’m giving a major address from the Senate floor on a pathway to peace and achieving a two-state solution.
Watch live: https://t.co/cuUUWbM1xF
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 14, 2024
Schumer cast Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government alongside Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority as “the four obstacles to peace.”
“And if we fail to overcome them, then Israel and the West Bank and Gaza will be trapped in the same violent state of affairs they’ve experienced for the last 75 years,” Schumer said.
Schumer maintained that Netanyahu had “lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel” and by including “bigots” who rejected a two state solution into his governing coalition.
Schumer also derided Netanyahu as being “uninterested” in a pathway to peace even before Oct. 7. If Netanyahu’s coalition holds power after the war with Hamas “winds down” and continues its policies, then America might have to play a proactive role in ensuring a two-state solution, Schumer said.
The Israeli government’s position on a two-state solution is that it is opposed to any “unilateral” recognition of a Palestinian state and that the parties must come to an agreement through direct negotiations only, according to The Times of Israel. This position received 99 votes from Israel’s 120-person unicameral legislative body Feb. 22.
After Schumer’s speech, Netanyahu rival and former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett posted a tweet appearing to condemn the senator’s remarks.
Fmr Prime Minister Naftali Bennett:
Regardless of our political opinion, we strongly oppose external political intervention in Israel’s internal affairs.
We are an independent nation, not a banana republic.
With the threat of terrorism on its way to the West, it would be best…
— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) March 14, 2024
“Regardless of our political opinion, we strongly oppose external political intervention in Israel’s internal affairs,” he wrote. “We are an independent nation, not a banana republic. With the threat of terrorism on its way to the West, it would be best if the international community would assist Israel in its just war, thereby also protecting their countries.”
This story has been updated to include Bennett’s comments.