Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Getty Images)

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday slammed Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) for demanding his ouster and a new Israeli government.  

"I think what he said is totally inappropriate," Netanyahu said on CNN of Schumer’s Thursday remarks. "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." Netanyahu likened Schumer's comments to demanding former president George W. Bush resign during the wars following the Sept. 11 attacks. "You don’t do that," the Israeli leader said.

Schumer in a Thursday speech on the Senate floor described Netanyahu as an "obstacle to peace" and said, "The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7. The world has changed—radically—since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past."

President Joe Biden on Friday praised Schumer’s remarks, telling reporters the New York Democrat "made a good speech" and "expressed a serious concern shared not only by him, but by many Americans." Netanyahu responded to Biden’s comment by noting that most Israelis support his efforts against Hamas, including his recent plan to "go into Rafah" and "destroy the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions." 

Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), meanwhile, took the Israeli leader’s side and denounced Schumer. "Chuck Schumer’s demand for new Israeli elections is inappropriate and offensive," Cotton said. "Israel is a close ally and a healthy, vibrant democracy. The last thing Israel needs is the ‘foreign election interference’ that Democrats so often decry here."

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