Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. AP Photo
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. AP Photo
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. AP Photo
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. AP Photo

Chuck Schumer: US senator calls for Israel elections, saying Netanyahu has lost his way


Ellie Sennett
  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday called for Israel to hold new elections, warning that Washington would have “no choice” but to act if the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not change course.

In a sweeping nearly hour-long speech on the Senate floor, the highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress, said Mr Netanyahu “has lost his way” and suggested his government's actions on Gaza have turned Israel into a “pariah opposed by the rest of the world”.

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

“I believe a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel.”

Israel's ambassador to Washington Michael Herzog said in a statement that it was "unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal terror organisation Hamas, to comment on the domestic political scene of a democratic ally".

"It is counterproductive to our common goals," Mr Herzog added on X after Mr Schumer's speech.

The call for change marks a significant deepening of recent cracks that have developed in Washington's historically ironclad support for Israel.

Chuck Schumer said he has 'known Prime Minister Netanyahu for a very long time' and 'will always respect his extraordinary bravery for Israel on the battlefield as a younger man'. AP
Chuck Schumer said he has 'known Prime Minister Netanyahu for a very long time' and 'will always respect his extraordinary bravery for Israel on the battlefield as a younger man'. AP

The US has been an outlier in its unwillingness to challenge its ally over the war in Gaza – which has killed more than 31,300 Palestinians, according to local health officials – and has questioned the legitimacy of accusations of human rights abuse and genocide allegedly perpetrated by Israel.

Mr Schumer said the US would have “no choice but to play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage” if the right-wing coalition government continues its current course.

The speech came as President Joe Biden's administration issued new sanctions on two Israeli outposts in the occupied West Bank, which progressive Jewish-American groups described as “hugely consequential”.

The White House on Thursday said the Majority Leader gave the Biden administration "advance notice that he was going to deliver those remarks".

"We fully respect his right to make those remarks and to decide for himself what he's going to say on the Senate floor," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

The Senate majority leader also gave a point-by-point break down in his support for Zionism and reaffirmed his position that Hamas must be eliminated.

But he centred a large portion of the speech on calling out “radical right-wing Israelis in government and society”, including ultranationalist ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir.

“There's a nastiness to what ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir believe, and how they use their positions of authority and influence and eagerness to inflame and provoke, that is profoundly irresponsible and self-destructive,” Mr Schumer said.

The veteran senator has used his career on Capitol Hill to become one of the strongest advocates of the US-Israel relationship and was among the first officials to lead a delegation to Israel in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks that launched the war in Gaza.

He has also led on US engagements with families of Israeli-Americans held hostage by Hamas, who have been pressuring Washington to challenge Mr Netanyahu's government.

Liz Hirsh Naftali, the aunt of returned hostage Abigail Mor Edan, this year told Mr Schumer and other senators that the “hold-up” for the return of Israeli hostages “is with the Netanyahu government”.

“The lack of action to bring home these loved ones clearly demonstrates to us that he wants to keep this war going to remain an office,” she said at a press conference on Capitol Hill in January.

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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

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Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
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Date started: 2012

Founder: Amir Barsoum

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: HealthTech / MedTech

Size: 300 employees

Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)

Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC

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The specs

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0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)

Power: 276hp

Torque: 392Nm

Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD

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THE SPECS

Cadillac XT6 2020 Premium Luxury

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Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates

The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.

ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.

ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.

ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.

DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.

Signed

Geoffrey Arthur  Sheikh Zayed

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Transmission: Seven-speed auto

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Power: 272hp at 6,400rpm

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Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.7L/100km

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Power: 360bhp

Torque: 500Nm

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Price: from Dh282,870

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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Updated: March 15, 2024, 6:26 AM