Netanyahu has ‘lost his way’ and should hold an election for a potential replacement, Schumer said on Thursday.
Described by ABC News as “the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the U.S”, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Netanyahu to be replaced, raising the ire of the embattled Israeli leader.
The comments came at a time when news reports suggested that the US is maybe beginning to slow down its shipments of weapons to Israel.
Netanyahu has ‘lost his way’ and should hold an election for a potential replacement, Schumer said on Thursday, ABC News and other outlets reported.
“I believe that to achieve that lasting peace – which we so long for – Israel must make some significant course corrections,” according to the Senator.
‘Very Slow’
Meanwhile, “a senior Israeli official, who spoke (with ABC News – PC) on the condition of anonymity,” said that “the U.S. military aid shipments at the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war ‘were coming very fast,’ but ‘we are now finding that it’s very slow.’”
“The official said he was not sure what the cause was, but that Israel was fully aware of the United States’ frustration with the war, and that Israel needed to do more to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza,” the US media outlet reported.
US ‘Quietly Approved’ Over 100 Arms Sales to Israel – Report
Per a 10-year agreement with former US President Barack Obama, Israel receives about $3.8 billion in military and missile defense systems every year. Since the start of the war, however, Washington has approved additional support that has allowed the Israeli army to maintain its genocidal war against the Palestinians for months.
Despite its increasing warning to Israel regarding its ongoing killing of Palestinian civilians, Politico reported on Thursday that the Biden administration has agreed to Israel’s plans to invade Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.
When asked about the reports that the US is maybe slowing down its weapon shipments to Israel, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said that the US remains committed to Israel’s defense.
“I’m not gonna get into the timeline for every individual system that’s being provided,” he told ABC News. “We continue to support Israel with their self-defense needs. That’s not going to change, and we have been very, very direct about that.”
For his part, Netanyahu responded to Senator Schumer’s comment in a statement issued by his Likud party.
Netanyahu Rejects Hamas Truce Proposal, Approves Rafah Invasion Plans
“Israel is not a banana republic but an independent and proud democracy”, which elected the prime minister.
“Contrary to Schumer’s words, the Israeli public supports a complete victory over Hamas, rejects any international dictate to establish a Palestinian terrorist state, and opposes the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza,” the statement read.
The senator “is expected to respect Israel’s elected government and not undermine it,” the statement read, adding that “this is always true, and even more so in wartime.”
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 31,490 Palestinians have been killed, and 73,439 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’
(The Palestine Chronicle)
