Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday slammed US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. He criticized Schumer's calling for new elections in Israel and stated that was "totally inappropriate".
"I think what he said is totally inappropriate. It's inappropriate to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership there," Netanyahu told CNN.
"That's something the Israeli public does on its own. We are not a banana republic," he said.
Instead, efforts should be focused on "bringing down the Hamas tyranny," Netanyahu said.
When asked about his stand on elections post war, Netanyahu said, "That's something for the Israeli public to decide" and added that it was "ridiculous" to talk about it while the war is ongoing.
Netanyahu further added, "As far as what Senator Schumer said, the majority of Israelis support our governments; 82 percent of Americans support Israel, instead of Hamas."
"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."
"This is a wake-up call to Senator Schumer," the PM 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," he said pointing the New York Democrat and leader in the Senate.
Earlier, Israel's ruling Likud party too had responded to Schumer. Defending the prime minister, the party stated Israel was "not a banana republic".
"Contrary to Schumer's words, the Israeli public supports a total victory over Hamas, rejects any international dictates to establish a Palestinian terrorist state, and opposes the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza," it said in a statement, reported The Guardian.
"Senator Schumer is expected to respect Israel's elected government and not undermine it. This is always true, and even more so in wartime."
President Joe Biden said on Friday that Schumer's comments echoed the concerns of many Americans, describing the remarks as a "good speech."
Meanwhile, The White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Sunday that Biden believed it was up to Israel to make its own decisions about internal politics.
"We respect the sovereignty of the Israeli people," Kirby told Fox News Sunday. "The president believes it's up to the Israeli people and the Israeli government to determine if and when there's going to be new elections."
Israel's military assault on Gaza has displaced nearly its entire 2.3 million population, caused a starvation crisis, flattened most of the enclave, killed over 31,000 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, and led to accusations of genocide being probed in the World Court.
