Nancy Pelosi joins Schumer in slamming Netanyahu, calls for Israel PM to resign over Oct. 7 attack

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign over the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, calling him an “obstacle” to peace and further illustrating the divide growing between the Democrats and the head of government of the Jewish State. .

Pelosi (D-Calif.) criticized Netanyahu in an interview with Irish media outlet RTÉ on Monday for the security lapses that led to the surprise assault that killed about 1,200 people, including 33 Americans.

“His intelligence officer resigned, he should resign,” Pelosi told the network’s “Six One” news program during a visit to the Emerald Isle.

Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, head of Israeli military intelligence, resigned Monday, saying his department “was not up to the task assigned to us” and “I will forever carry the horrible pain of war with me.”

Pelosi, 84, didn’t hesitate when asked if she thought Netanyahu had been an “obstacle” to peace in the Middle East.

“Oh, he’s been doing it for years. I don’t know if he’s afraid of peace, incapable of peace, or just doesn’t want peace. But he was an obstacle to the two-state solution,” the Californian said. “He’s been a problem.”

Pelosi’s move against Netanyahu echoes a March 14 speech by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the United States, in which the Brooklyn Democrat said the government of Netanyahu “no longer responds to Israel’s needs after October 7.” »

At the time, Pelosi hailed Schumer’s incendiary remarks as “an act of courage, an act of love for Israel.”

Pelosi nonetheless insisted Monday that Israel is a “friend” and that it “was in our national security interests” to support the key U.S. ally.

The former House speaker stressed that Hamas’ bloody rampage “was an act of cruel brutality” and touted the $26.38 billion aid package for Israel that passed the lower house on Saturday.

“The biggest advocate for humanitarian aid to the Palestinians has been Joe Biden,” she told the Irish media outlet, before lambasting protesters who challenged the president’s handling of the war in the Middle East.

The Golden State Democrat explained that while she trusts the “sincerity of many protesters” and believes that much of these protests are “organic, spontaneous, real,” she also believes that there is a ” Russian tint” in all this.

“(Biden) has been, as I say, the force of humanitarian aid. He is now calling for a ceasefire. The one resisting the ceasefire at this point is Hamas. “Don’t forget that Hamas is a terrorist organization in our eyes,” she added.

The war between Israel and Hamas has divided the Democratic base and raised fears within the party that it could cost Biden key states on November 5.

Pelosi also praised House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for challenging isolationist Republicans and grappling with foreign aid programs aimed at Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

“The speaker did her job and we are delighted,” she said. “I think he deserves some credit. I think it took courage…because you have to understand that Congress, on the Republican side of the House, is a Putin caucus.”