“Incompetent” Netanyahu brushes off US scrutiny
Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off critics of his in the country as well as in the United States, who have urged him to call an election, AP reported.
Critics in Israel and abroad have branded Netanyahu incompetent and perceive him to be sleeping at the wheel as the death toll in Gaza since October now exceeds 30,000 and there seems to be no end to the massacre in the near future.
On March 14, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the far-right leader should call an election, arguing it would be in Israel’s best interests given that he is an “obstruction to peace”.
In the Senate, the Democrat stated, “I have known Prime Minister Netanyahu for a very long time, while we have vehemently disagreed on many occasions, I will always respect his extraordinary bravery for Israel on the battlefield as a younger man.
“I believe in his heart he has his highest priority as the security of Israel. However, I also believe Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take the precedence over the best interests of Israel.
“He has put himself in coalition with far-right extremists like Minister (Bezalel) Smotrich and (Itamar) Ben Gvir and as a result, he has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to a historic low.”
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Netanyahu shortly hit back at the Senator during an interview with conservative news channel Fox News, claiming that his comments were inappropriate and arguing “Would the US have called elections after 9/11?”
He added, “We are not a banana republic, the people of Israel will choose when they will have elections and who they’ll elect, and it’s not something that will be foisted on us.”
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In an interview with CNN on March 17, reporter Dana Bash asked Netanyahu if he would call elections once Israel’s war on Gaza came to a halt. He replied, “I think that’s something for the Israeli public to decide.”
Mr Netanyahu is facing increasing pressure from Israeli nationals as around 130 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 remain in the besieged Gaza Strip. This has sparked various protests outside his personal home in Jerusalem with the angry crowd demanding his resignation and accusing him of being power-hungry.
Since October, Netanyahu’s approval rating has toppled and an opposition coalition is comfortably ahead of his Likud Party, recent polls show.
In early November 2023, prominent tabloid Israel Hayom, a propaganda arm of the Netanyahu government, called for the premier to step down in an opinion piece titled, “Netanyahu, lead us to victory and then go”.
AP/CNN/Fox News
