US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “lost his way” and is a “major obstacle to peace” in the Middle East.
Schumer, the Senate’s first Jewish majority leader and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the US, delivered a withering criticism of Netanyahu in a 40-minute speech on Thursday morning.
Schumer gave a speech on the Senate floor, during which he strongly criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “tolerating the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows.”
The Democrat politician said the Israeli premier had entered a coalition with far-right extremists and “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.”
“We should not let the complexities of this conflict stop us from stating the plain truth: Palestinian citizens do not deserve to suffer for the sins of Hamas, and Israel has a moral obligation to do better. The United States has an obligation to do better.”
Schumer said Washington should provide robust humanitarian aid to Gaza and pressure the Israeli government to allow more of it to enter the coastal territory.
To achieve a two-state solution, Schumer said, “things must change.”
Schumer said there were “four major obstacles” to peace, listing them as Hamas and its supporters, radical right-wing Israelis in government and society, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu himself.
“Until they are removed from the equation, there will never be peace in Israel and Gaza, and the West Bank,” Schumer added.
Later Thursday, the US State Department said that Schumer’s comments were not those of the administration of President Joe
Biden, emphasizing that the US Congress is an independent branch of government.
However, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller added that “there are a number of things we wanted to see Israel do differently.”
