Schumer calls for new election in Israel and sharply criticizes Netanyahu

As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me that Netanyahu's coalition no longer fits Israel's needs after October 7. The world has changed radically since then and the Israeli people are being suffocated right now by a vision of government stuck in the past. No one expects Prime Minister Netanyahu to do what needs to be done to break the cycle of violence, preserve Israel's credibility on the world stage, and work toward a two-state solution. If he were to repudiate ministers Smotrich and Ben-gvir and expel them from his government, a coalition government, it would be a truly significant step forward.

But unfortunately, there is no reason to believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu would do that. He will not disavow Ministers Smotrich and Ben-gvir and their

calls

for the Israelis to expel the Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank. It will not commit to a military operation in Rafah that prioritizes the protection of civilian life. He will not responsibly participate in discussions about a day-after plan for Gaza and a long-term path to peace. Hamas and the Palestinians who support and tolerate their evil methods of the radical right Israelis in government and society. President Abbas. Prime Minister Netanyahu. These are the four obstacles to peace.

And if we fail to overcome them, then Israel, the West Bank and Gaza will be trapped in the same violent situation they have experienced for the past 75 years. These obstacles are not the same in terms of their culpability for the current state of affairs, but arguing about which is the worst hinders our ability to achieve peace. Given the complexity and gravity of this undertaking, many different groups, many different groups, have the responsibility of carrying it out. The Palestinian people must reject Hamas and the extremism in their midst. They know better than anyone how Hamas uses them as pawns, how Hamas has tortured and punished Palestinians seeking peace.

Frankly, I have not heard enough Palestinian leaders express their angst about Hamas and other extremist elements in Palestinian society. I implore you to speak up now, even when it is hardest, because that is the only true way to honor the lives of all those lost. By transcending enmity and bloodshed and working together in good faith for a better future, once Hamas is stripped of power, Palestinians will be much freer to choose the government they want and deserve, with the prospect of a solution reality of two states on the border. table and, for the first time, a true State for the Palestinian people.

I think they will be much more likely to support more traditional leaders committed to peace. I think the same goes for the Israeli people. Call me an optimist, but I believe that if the Israeli public is presented with a path toward a two-state solution that offers a chance for lasting peace and coexistence, then most moderate Israelis will moderate their views and support it. Part of that moderation must include rejecting right-wing fanatics like Ministers Smotrich and Ben-gvir and extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank. These people do not represent the majority of the Israeli public. However, under Prime Minister Netanyahu, they have had too much influence.

All parties must reject river-to-sea thinking. And I think they will. If the prospects for peace and a two-state solution are real beyond the leaders of the Israeli and Palestinian people, there are others who have a serious responsibility to work for a two-state solution. Without them, you cannot be successful. Middle Eastern powers such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan and other major Arab states can have immense power and influence with the Palestinians working with the United States. They must responsibly deploy their influence, money and diplomacy to support a new, demilitarized Palestinian state that rejects terrorism and violence.

I believe they have the influence to do this with the support of the majority of the Palestinian people who want, when every other people wants, peace, security and prosperity. I believe there is enough strength in the Arab world to get President Abbas to resign and support a gradual succession plan for responsible Palestinian leaders to take his place. Hamas has so torn apart society in Gaza that external involvement from Arab countries will be necessary to help rebuild something better and more sustainable. It may take some time to identify such leaders, but with the considerable resources of the Arab world behind them, I believe these leaders can and will emerge knowing that they have support.

The outlines of the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel that were reported before October 7 still make a lot of sense and can be the catalyst for the creation of a viable and viable Palestinian state. Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations should continue to pursue normalization with Israel and this should be the basis of a grand Middle East deal that will finally make a meaningful Palestinian state a reality. For our part, the United States, the world's superpower, must work together with our allies to bring our immense diplomatic and financial power to bear on this situation. We can be partners in the subsidy, in a big deal in the Middle East, deepening our relationship with the Saudis and other Arab nations to induce them to reach a deal, but only if they actively guide the Palestinians toward a more peaceful future.

On the Israeli side, the US government should demand that Israel conduct itself with a future two-state solution in mind. We should not be forced to adopt a position of unequivocal support for the actions of an Israeli government that includes fanatics who reject the idea of ​​a Palestinian state. Israel is a democracy. Five months into this conflict, it is clear that Israelis need to take stock of the situation and ask themselves: Should we change course at this critical juncture? I believe that new

election

s are the only way to allow for an open and healthy decision-making process about Israel's future.

At a time when so many Israelis have lost confidence in the vision and direction of their government, I also believe that the majority of the Israeli public will recognize the need for change. And I believe that holding new

election

s once the war begins to end would give Israelis the opportunity to express their vision for the post-war future. Of course, the United States cannot dictate the outcome of a similar election, nor should we try. That is for the Israeli public to decide. A public that I think understands better than anyone that Israel cannot hope to succeed as a pariah that the rest of the world opposes as a democracy.

Israel has the right to elect its own leaders and we must let the chips fall where they may. But the important thing is that Israelis are given the choice. There needs to be a new debate about Israel's future after October 7. In my opinion, the best way to achieve this is to hold elections now. If the current coalition of President and Prime Minister Netanyahu remains in power after the war begins to subside and continues to pursue dangerous and incendiary policies that test existing American standards of resilience, then the United States will have no choice but to play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our influence to change the current course.

The United States' bond with Israel is unbreakable, but if extremists continue to unduly influence Israeli policy, then the administration should use the tools at its disposal to ensure that our support for Israel is aligned with our broader goal of achieving peace. long-term peace and stability in the region. I think this would make a lasting two-state solution more likely. Now I know there are many on both sides who wonder how we can discuss peace at a time like this. Many Gazans are displaced from their homes and struggling to meet their most basic needs. Many are still burying and mourning their dead.

Entire families have been wiped out. In Israel, everyone knows someone who has been murdered, who was murdered on October 7. Many Israelis feel that people around the world do not respect the pain and anger unleashed by Hamas' cruel attack. So is there real hope for peace and a two-state solution to this atrocity? Who could blame even the most hopeful among us for hardening their hearts, for giving up the possibility of peace, for giving in to hate? I seek my inspiration from the example of the leaders who came before us and worked for peace in the face of extreme circumstances.

Some of Israel's greatest warriors and security experts have been staunch advocates of peace because they understand better than anyone that it is essential to Israel's security. David Ben-Gurion, Yitzhak Rabin. Ehud Barak, all of them. So in peace with the Palestinians. On the Palestinian side, we do not have to look far back to see a model of responsible leadership. Salam Fayyad, former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, who was clear in his condemnation of violence against Israelis and for today's Arab leaders to find inspiration in Anwar El Sadat of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan, who had the courage and vision to seek peace with Israel.

Before October 7, things were going in the right direction. Both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were on the path to normalization with Israel and with conditions that would greatly benefit the lives of the Palestinian people. Many believe that Iran motivated Hamas to interrupt this process, and indeed there have been setbacks since October 7. But recent conversations between Arab and American leaders suggest that the desire to find a way forward is now stronger than ever. Arab leaders cannot lose their stomach for peace. Now, at this critical turning point. They must continue to move down the path toward normalization with Israel, and the United States should use all its power to influence them, bring them to the table, and force them to cooperate constructively.

If my speech today has any effect, it will probably have a greater influence on the Israeli and Jewish side. But if we want to resolve this conflict, we need comparable Palestinian and Arab leaders to also speak responsibly to their people about the path to peace. Now is the time for courageous leadership after Israelis and Palestinians have experienced so much horror and loss of life. If something significant did not come out of this war it would be doubly tragic. History will remember what we do here. Are we prepared together to have the courage to make an all-out effort to achieve peace once and for all?

To bring to this conflict what Dr. Martin Luther King Junior called the fierce urgency of now to end the cycles of tragedy and pain. I've always said that when horrible things happen, some turn inward and let the pain consume them, while others light a candle and turn their pain into power. They could see hope in the darkness, in the Scriptures. We read about how God created the world from an infinite void that from the greatest darkness the greatest light can emerge. I hope and pray that, following the brutal murder of Israelis by Hamas and the terrible number of civilian casualties in Gaza, a two-state solution prevails in which Jews and Palestinians can live in peace.

I know I am not alone in this prayer. There are Palestinians in Gaza right now, some of whom are still pulling dead relatives out of the rubble, challenging Hamas and its murderous ideology and calling for a path to peace. Right now there are some families of the victims of October 7 in Israel who have been calling for peace, asking their government to transcend the cycle of bloodshed and revenge. If they can find in their hearts paths to peace, peace, then surely we can too. May we light the candles from the ashes that lead to a better future for all.