Israel’s Netanyahu becomes ‘millstone around neck’, must be dismissed: Knesset member

JERUSALEM

A member of Israel’s Knesset (parliament) has called for dismissing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he has become a “burden” for the state.

“It pains me to say these words in the midst of the war, but it seems there is no other option,” Meirav Cohen, a member of “There is a Future” Party led by opposition leader Yair Lapid, said in a video posted on X.

“When the prime minister fails and continues to fail, proving that he is not qualified for the position, that he is the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time, he must be replaced immediately."

“The British people taught us that when they replaced their Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain on May 10, 1940, after about 9 months of the outbreak of World War II,” added Cohen, a former minister of social equality.

“Netanyahu is a failure," the Knesset member said. "Netanyahu, as Prime Minister, has become a millstone around the neck of the state and Israeli society."

Netanyahu is facing growing criticisms over his failure to acknowledge responsibility for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

A recent opinion poll by the Lazar Research Institute for Israeli daily Maariv found that only 27% of Israelis believe that Netanyahu is the right person to run the government.

The survey found that 49% of Israelis, or about half, believe that Benny Gantz, leader of the National Unity Party, is the best figure to lead the country’s government.

Many Israelis expect that post-war investigations into the Hamas attack will spell the end of Netanyahu's political career.

Netanyahu was elected prime minister in late 2022.

On Sunday, opposition leader Lapid called for fresh elections amid the ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, killing at least 19,667 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 52,586 others, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while more than 130 hostages remain in captivity.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala