Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says comments from US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that described him as an obstacle to peace in the Middle East, were “totally inappropriate.”
On Thursday, Schumer criticized Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, calling for new elections in a speech on the Senate floor on the Israel-Hamas war.
Speaking to CNN's Dana Bash about Schumer’s calls for elections, Netanyahu said whether elections were held or not in Israel was something "the Israeli government does on its own."
"It's inappropriate for.. to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership," he said.
He said the decision to hold elections was ultimately up to the Israeli public.
But, when pressed by CNN's Dana Bash if he would commit to holding them, Netanyahu replied: “we’ll see when we win the war.”
“If we were to have elections now, before the war is won, resoundingly won, we would have at least six months of national paralysis which means we would lose the war."