Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called this week for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down over the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, blasting him as an “obstacle” to peace and further illustrating the growing rift between Democrats and the Jewish state’s head of government.
Pelosi (D-Calif.) panned Netanyahu in an interview with Irish outlet RTÉ Monday for the security failures that led to the surprise assault that killed an estimated 1,200 people — including 33 Americans.
“His intelligence person resigned, he should resign,” Pelosi told the broadcaster’s “Six One” news program during a visit to the Emerald Isle.
Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, Israel’s head of military intelligence resigned Monday, saying his department “did not live up to the task we were entrusted with” and “I will carry the horrible pain of the war with me forever.”
Pelosi, 84, didn’t hesitate when asked if she believes Netanyahu has been an “obstacle” to peace in the Middle East.
“Oh, he has been for years. 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,” the Californian said. “He’s been a problem.”
Pelosi’s jab at Netanyahu echoes a March 14 speech from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the highest-ranked elected Jewish official in the US, in which the Brooklyn Democrat said the Netanyahu government “no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7.”
At the time, Pelosi hailed Schumer’s incendiary remarks as “an act of courage, an act of love for Israel.”
Still, Pelosi was adamant Monday that Israel is a “friend” and that “it has been in our national security interest” to support the key US ally.
The former House speaker underscored that Hamas’ bloody rampage “was an act of cruel brutality” and touted the $26.38 billion assistance package for Israel that passed the lower chamber on Saturday.
“The biggest advocate for humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians has been Joe Biden,” she told the Irish outlet, before bashing protesters who have taken issue with the president’s handling of the Middle East war.
The Golden State Democrat explained that while she trusts the “sincerity of many of the demonstrators” and believes that much of it is “organic, it’s spontaneous, it’s real,” she also believes that there is a “Russian tinge to it.”
“[Biden] has been, as I say the force for humanitarian assistance. He now is calling for the cease-fire. Who’s resisting the cease-fire at this point is Hamas. Remember, Hamas is a terrorist organization in our view,” she added.
The Israel-Hamas war has splintered the Democratic base and triggered fears among party insiders that it could cost Biden key states on Nov. 5.
Pelosi also heaped rare praise on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for defying isolationist Republicans and wrangling through the foreign aid packages for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
“The speaker got the job done, and we’re glad,” she said. “I think he deserves some credit. I think it took some courage … because you have to understand in the Congress on the Republican side in the House, is a Putin caucus.”