Netanyahu, 73, made the remarks during a video conference with Senate Republicans after the Senate Majority Leader declined the Israeli prime minister’s request for an opportunity to address Senate Democrats as well.
“He said that he thought Schumer’s remarks were wholly inappropriate,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told reporters, according to Politico. “And then he said, ‘You know, if you want me to be more frank, I thought they were outrageous.’”
“And he said, ‘Israel would never, never purport to tell the United States how to run our elections, who to elect and no sovereign state would [allow] that kind of interference.’”
Last week, Schumer, who is Jewish, called for a “new election” in Israel to replace Netanyahu once the country’s war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip “starts to wind down.”
The New York Democrat went on to denounce Netanyahu and “radical” members of his security cabinet as an “obstacle” to peace.
“When you make the issues partisan, you hurt the cause of Israel,” Schumer told reporters when asked about why he opted against giving Netanyahu an audience with Democratic members of the upper chamber.
Schumer on Wednesday continued to defend his anti-Netanyahu speech.
“I gave this speech out of a real love for Israel,” he said during a press conference. “If you read the speech, we called only for there to be an election after the hostilities have declined,” Schumer added.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters that he “made it clear” to Netanyahu during the meeting that “it’s not the business of the United States to be giving a democratic ally advice about when to have an election or what kind of military campaign they may be conducting.”
Netanyahu told GOP senators that Israel will continue its efforts to eliminate Hamas and that a ground assault on Rafah – located on the southern end of the 25-mile-long Gaza Strip – is necessary to accomplish that goal.
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“He’s going to do what he said he’s going to do. He’s going to finish it,” Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said.
“We asked… him for an update and we got it on the war, on the release of the hostages and in the efforts to defeat Hamas,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said of the meeting. “We told him Israel has every right to defend themselves and he said that’s exactly what they continue to do.”
Risch, the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted that Netanyahu was “sensitive” to civilian casualties in Gaza and aware of the need to get more humanitarian aid to get into the warzone.
“He’s very sensitive to the fact that every civilian casualty is a very unfortunate event,” Risch said, adding that Netanyahu was “very supportive” of the US military effort to build a temporary pier that would allow aid to flow in from the Mediterranean Sea.
More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel declared war against Hamas following the deadly Oct. 7 terror attack on the Jewish state, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, which does not distinguish between civilian and terrorist deaths.
Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,200 people, including 33 US citizens, and took hundreds captive on Oct. 7. It is believed that at least 130 people remain in captivity in Gaza, including five Americans.