Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reassured Senate Republicans that the “greatest part of their operations” in Gaza is complete during a video conference on Wednesday.
Netanyahu gave Senate Republicans an update on the status of the war, speaking with them for about 10-15 minutes before taking questions. The prime minister’s virtual meeting with Senate Republicans comes in the wake of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) comments last week where he criticized the Israeli prime minister, saying he “has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza.”
Netanyahu made it clear that Schumer’s speech last week, calling for new elections in the country, was not well received in response to a question, according to accounts from several GOP senators following their meeting.
“Clearly the prime minister was not happy with Sen. Schumer’s speech nor was he happy with President Biden’s praise for Sen. Schumer’s speech, but I think the Prime Minister understands the politics of all of it,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), speaking with reporters on Wednesday.
Kennedy emphasized that Netanyahu said they have their plans set and that they will “not be deterred by a speech on the floor of the United States Senate.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said Netanyahu told Senate Republicans that the largest part of their operations in Gaza are finished.
“He clearly wanted to give the impression that they’re nearing the end here,” Hawley said, speaking with reporters Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Schumer rejected a chance for Netanyahu to address Senate Democrats at their caucus lunch Wednesday, telling reporters that he denied the request because “when you make the issue partisan, you hurt the cause of Israel.”
The New York senator, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S. government, continues to defend his speech and the criticism of Netanyahu, claiming he gave it out of a “real love for Israel.”
“We called only for there to be an election after hostilities declined after Hamas was defeated,” Schumer said during his weekly press conference on Wednesday.
There’s a growing group of Democrats sounding the alarm about humanitarian concerns in Gaza. Nineteen Democratic senators led by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) sent a letter to the Biden administration, urging it to establish a two-state solution and recognize “a nonmilitarized Palestinian state” following the war in Gaza. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) was part of that letter.
“I don’t feel good about [Israel’s] relationship with our political party. I think if Israel does not take steps to alleviate the pending famine, it has consequences for Israel’s alliance structure all over the world,” Murphy said on Wednesday.
“My hope is that the consultations Netanyahu’s team has here in Washington will moderate his views on the Rafa invasion and we will have more humanitarian access,” he added. “My belief is that they need to suspend a military campaign right now. The situation is so desperate on the ground, they need to pause the military campaign and focus on relieving humanitarian suffering.”
Senate Republicans continue to slam Schumer’s speech from last week, accusing him of attempting to influence Israeli politics, and are trying to portray Democrats as “anti-Israel.”
“There is a sad reality playing out, which is today’s Democrat Party is becoming more and more deeply anti-Israel,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
“It used to be there was a lot of focus on the ‘Squad’ and a handful of antisemites in the House who would make outrageous comments and repeat anti-Jewish tropes. But now what is particularly worrisome is that these sentiments are now reflected in supposedly mainstream Democrats, including Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, and Joe Biden, the president of the United States. That is an incredibly dangerous dynamic,” Cruz added.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also had sharp criticism for his Democratic counterpart for the “hypocritical attempts to influence Israeli domestic politics” in a speech on the Senate floor earlier on Wednesday.
“They’re an affront to the very independence of the state of Israel, a sovereign nation, a robust democracy, and one of America’s closest allies and friends,” McConnell said.
Republicans have been forced to confront former President Donald Trump’s comments that Jewish people who vote for Democrats “hate Israel” and their religion.
“I think that is incredibly, incredibly wrong and an awful statement,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), speaking with reporters on Tuesday.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he had a “lengthy” conversation with Netanyahu on Wednesday and is considering inviting him to address Congress.
“We didn’t talk about those logistics, but it’s one of the things that we have in, in mind, and we may try to arrange for that,” Johnson said, speaking with reporters Wednesday. “I think it’s very important for us to show solidarity and support with Israel right now in their time of great struggle and, and we certainly stand for that position, and we’ll, we’ll try to advance that as in every way that we can.”