US Senate leader calls for ‘new election’ in Israel

WASHINGTON — The leader of the US Senate called on Thursday for Israel to hold new elections in the most strident criticism yet by a senior American official of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza.

The remarks from Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking elected Jewish American in history, came amid increased pressure from President Joe Biden over the mounting death toll in the conflict, sparked by the October 7 sudden attacks by Hamas fighters.

“As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we should let the chips fall where they may. But the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice,” said Schumer, the head of the chamber’s Democratic majority, without suggesting a timeline for a vote.

“There needs to be a fresh debate about the future of Israel after October 7.”

Schumer said Netanyahu was one of four “major obstacles” to a two-state solution and peace, alongside Hamas and its Palestinian supporters, radical right-wing Israelis and the Palestinian Authority’s leader Mahmoud Abbas.

He accused the Israeli leader of surrounding himself with right-wing extremists and being “too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows”.

“Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah,” Schumer, an outspoken ally of the Israeli government who visited the country just days after the attacks, told colleagues on the Senate floor.

He warned that if Netanyahu’s coalition continued to pursue “dangerous and inflammatory” policies after the war, the United States would look at playing “a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course”.

Vowing to destroy Hamas after the October 7 sudden attack, Israel has carried out a relentless campaign of bombardment and ground operations in Gaza, killing at least 31,341 people, most of them civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Famine 

The United Nations is warning of famine amid hampered efforts to get more aid into the war-devastated Gaza Strip and desperate residents have stormed relief shipments.

Mediators failed to reach a truce between Israel and Hamas fighters for the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, which started on Monday, and Hamas authorities have since reported more than 40 air strikes across Gaza.

Daily aid airdrops by multiple nations have been taking place but the air and sea missions are not seen as adequate, and the UN has reported difficulty in accessing Gaza’s north with aid.

“The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. The world has changed radically since then and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past,” Schumer said.

“Nobody expects Prime Minister Netanyahu to do the things that must be done to break the cycle of violence, preserve Israel’s credibility on the world stage, and work towards a two-state solution.”

The United States also sanctioned three Israeli settlers and two farming outposts on Thursday, accusing them of being involved in “undermining stability in the West Bank”.

The move marks the second time this year that Washington has sanctioned Israeli settlers, as it looks to respond to the rise in West Bank settler violence since Hamas’s attacks on southern Israel on October 7.

“Today, we are taking further action to promote accountability for those perpetuating violence and causing turmoil in the West Bank,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

The US Treasury Department website showed that the three sanctioned individuals, Zvi Bar Yosef, Neriya Ben Pazi and Moshe Sharvit were Israeli citizens in their late 20s and early 30s, who were living in the West Bank.

The Treasury Department also unveiled sanctions against two mixed farming communities, “Moshes Farm” — also known as “Tirza Valley Farm Outpost” — and “Zvis Farm”, which is situated near the existing settlement of Halamish.

The move freezes any assets associated with the sanctioned individuals and entities, and generally prohibits Americans from dealing with them.

The Palestinian Authority says at least 430 people have been killed at the hands of Israeli forces or settlers since October 7.

“There is no justification for extremist violence against civilians or forcing families from their homes, whatever their national origin, ethnicity, race, or religion,” Miller said.