THE Democratic leader of the US Senate Chuck Schumer stood up today in her favor holding elections in Israel, calling the country’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu an “obstacle to peace.”

“A coalition under Netanyahu does not meet Israel’s needs after October 7,” the start date of the war with Hamas, the influential US lawmaker said during a speech.

Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader of the Senate and the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the US, has so far been cautious in his criticism of Israel, which is waging an increasingly controversial military campaign in Gaza.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way, letting his political survival come before Israel’s supreme interest,” the Democrat said from the Senate floor.

Five months after the start of the war, Israel is at a “critical point,” Chuck Schumer said, arguing that holding “new elections is the only way to allow a healthy decision-making process” about the country’s future.