Biden said that Schumer's speech about Israel expressed the concern of many Americans (European)
US President Joe Biden on Friday praised a speech by the leader of the Democratic majority in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, in which he strongly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called for new elections to be held in Israel.
Biden said, in statements at the White House in response to a question about Schumer's speech yesterday in the Senate, that it was good and during it he expressed the serious concern of many Americans.
Biden added that Chuck Schumer contacted the presidential team regarding his speech regarding Israel.
The leader of the Democratic majority in the US Senate - who has strongly supported Israel for a long time and is the most senior elected American Jewish official - described Netanyahu as a major obstacle to peace, and accused him of submitting to the demands of those he described as extremists, referring in particular to the Ministers of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, and National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir.
He also said that Israel's rejection of the two-state solution is a grave mistake, and criticized settlement expansion in the West Bank.
Schumer's statements sparked angry reactions from the Likud Party led by Benjamin Netanyahu and other right-wing parties, who expressed their rejection of American interference in what they called "Israeli democracy," while Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said that Senator Chuck Schumer's speech indicates that Netanyahu is losing major supporters. Israel in the United States.
Intentional change
Meanwhile, the American website Politico quoted a senior official in President Joe Biden’s administration as saying that the change in the tone of US administration officials towards Israel is intentional.
The American official said that the administration's rhetoric regarding humanitarian aid has become more severe with the deterioration of the situation in the Gaza Strip, adding that Washington's principles have not changed, which are the return of "hostages," the defeat of Hamas, the protection of civilians, and the two-state solution.
There have recently been reports of the US President's dissatisfaction with the Israeli Prime Minister, due to the latter's failure to respond to Washington's calls to facilitate the arrival of aid to Gaza and reduce the number of civilian casualties in the Strip.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies