Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) this week after Schumer tried to meddle in Israel’s elections last week.
Netanyahu made the remarks during a Sunday interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” in response to Schumer calling for Netanyahu’s ouster.
“I think what he said is totally inappropriate,” Netanyahu said. “It’s inappropriate for to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership there. That’s something that Israel, the Israeli public does on its own, and we’re not a banana republic.”
“I think the only government that we should be working on to bring down now is the terrorist tyranny in Gaza, the Hamas tyranny that murdered over 1,000 Israelis, including some dozens of Americans, and is holding Americans and Israelis hostage. That’s what we should be focused on,” he continued. “And as far as what Senator Schumer said, the majority of Israelis support our governments; 82 percent of Americans support Israel, instead of Hamas. But the majority of Israelis support the policies that we’re leading, go into Rafah, destroy the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions, make sure that we don’t put into Gaza, instead of Hamas, the Palestinian Authority that educates their children towards terrorism and the annihilation of Israel.”
“An enormous majority here, including 99 Knesset members to nine, oppose the idea of ramming down a Palestinian state down our throats,” Netanyahu said. “The majority of Israelis support the policies of my government. It’s not a fringe government. It represents the policies supported by the majority of the people. If Senator Schumer opposes these policies, he’s not opposing me. He’s opposing the people of Israel.”
In what was billed as a major address by the Senate majority leader, Schumer declared last week that “the Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7″ and, in an unprecedented move, called for a new election to be held in Israel. “Five months into this conflict, it is clear that Israelis need to take stock of the situation and ask, must we change course?” the Democrat leader said. “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.”
Schumer made the remarks as some anti-Israel Democrats have expressed dissatisfaction with the Biden administration’s support of Israel, which has been waning in recent months.
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