Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is refusing to bow to calls by the top US senator for a new election and is pushing back against White House warnings about a potential new offensive in Gaza, widening a rift with top Democrats in Washington.
An extraordinary turn in US-Israel relations in recent days is coinciding with intense diplomacy aimed at securing a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas and the release of hostages as the conflict deepens bitter divides in US politics. But the gulf in trust and goals between Israel and Hamas has thwarted hopes for a breakthrough for weeks.
Netanyahu’s defiance shone through an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday, three days after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer – the highest-ranking Jewish American in the US government – said that a new Israeli government was needed to reset war strategy and that Netanyahu was an obstacle to peace.
“It’s inappropriate 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,” Netanyahu said on “State of the Union.”
“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 Sen. Schumer opposes these policies, he’s not opposing me. He’s opposing the people of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
Despite the Israeli prime minister’s stand, there is increasing criticism of his approach in the US and overseas, at a time when his position among some Israeli voters is fragile, five months after terror attacks that besmirched his brand as the country’s ultimate security guarantor. Thousands of protesters filled the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Saturday night, in…
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