Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) this week demanded Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu resign for his "terrible" response to Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, calling the Israeli leader an "obstacle" to peace.
"We recognize Israel's right to protect itself. We reject the policy and the practice of Netanyahu—terrible. What could be worse than what he has done in response [to the Oct. 7 attack]?" the former House speaker told Irish broadcaster RTÉ in an interview published Monday.
"[Netanyahu] should resign. He's ultimately responsible," Pelosi said, adding, "I don't know whether he’s afraid of peace, incapable of peace, or just doesn’t want peace. But he has been an obstacle to the two-state solution."
Netanyahu declared Israel was at war with Hamas immediately after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, vowing to make the terrorists pay an "unprecedented price." Israel has since eliminated thousands of Hamas militants and established control over significant portions of the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces are set to enter Rafah, one of the few remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza, to "[achieve] a complete victory over Hamas," Netanyahu said earlier this month.
Pelosi’s criticism of Netanyahu came a month after Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) called for the prime minister's ouster and a new Israeli government, arguing the Israeli leader "has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take the precedence over the best interests of Israel."
"I think what [Schumer] said is totally inappropriate," Netanyahu said in response. "It’s inappropriate to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership there. That’s something the Israeli public does on its own."
In recent months, President Joe Biden has reportedly had a falling out with Netanyahu. An NBC News report said Biden privately called the Israeli prime minister an "asshole" and "a pain in my ass," a week after Politico reported the president referred to Netanyahu as a "bad fucking guy."