US Senate Majority Leader Calls for New Elections in Israel

(Patria) - US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called for new elections in Israel, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prioritizing his "political survival" over the state.

Schumer, a Democrat and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the US, believes Netanyahu has "lost his way," warning that high civilian casualties in Gaza risk alienating allies and turning Israel into a global "pariah," RSE reports.

Speaking in the Senate yesterday, Schumer, a long-time supporter of Israel, sharply criticized the Israeli leader, stating that he has allowed "his political survival to take precedence over Israel's best interests."

Israel, Schumer noted, must make "course corrections" and take steps to better protect civilians in Gaza.

More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, the Hamas-run health ministry said last month. The more than 31,000 killed represent about 1.3 percent of the 2.3 million inhabitants of the Palestinian territory.

Israel is determined to invade and destroy Hamas, which, along with allied Palestinian extremist organizations, killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel on October 7 last year and abducted more than 250 hostages.

For peace talks to progress, Schumer believes Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas must also step down.

The Palestinian leader, who is 87 years old, has been rarely seen during the conflict, and his government has not held elections in the West Bank since 2006.

Schumer's comments drew criticism from the outgoing Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who called his 40-minute speech "grotesque" and "unprecedented."

While the US remains Israel's closest ally and largest provider of military aid, concerns have been growing within the administration of US President Joe Biden.

In an interview with MSNBC on March 10, Biden said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "hurting Israel more than helping Israel" with his approach to the war against Hamas in Gaza.

The US President supported Israel's pursuit of Hamas but stated that Netanyahu must pay more attention to the suffering of innocents and the consequences of the actions taken.

The Israeli Prime Minister immediately rejected the US President's criticism that Israel's approach to the war in Gaza is "hurting Israel more than helping Israel."

"If he meant that I am pursuing a private policy against the will of the majority, the will of the majority of Israelis, and that this harms Israel's interests, then he is wrong on both counts," Netanyahu said in an interview with Politico.

A day later, on March 11, the US intelligence community's annual assessment for 2024 was released, stating that Netanyahu's right-wing coalition "may be in jeopardy." Israel's ability to eliminate Hamas was also questioned.

The report, titled "Annual Threat Assessment," typically follows two-day hearings before the Senate and House Intelligence Committees and is a rare opportunity for the top leaders of major US spy agencies to testify in an open hearing on a range of global challenges and hotspots.

During testimony on Monday, March 11, the CIA director said that a hostage deal is the most practical way to stop, at least temporarily, the war in Gaza.