FM calls Schumer speech ‘unacceptable,’ as rift downplayed amid Rafah planning

Foreign Minister Israel Katz tells the Kan public broadcaster that US Senate Leader Chuck Schumer is a “friend of Israel,” but calls his speech urging elections “unacceptable.”

Speaking to Army Radio, former US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides defends both Schumer and his remarks, which have been backed by US President Joe Biden, deepening a rift between Jerusalem and the White House.

Nides calls Schumer the best friend Israel has and a “true Zionist.”

US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, on March 27, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

“The senator has the right to say what he believes, and Israelis will decide how and when they want elections,” he says.

Speaking to Kan, Katz claims that Israel and the US are on the same page regarding an impending Israeli invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah and moving civilians out of harm’s way.

“It’s clear we will act in Rafah. Ahead of the massive operation, we will evacuate the civilians from there. Not north — but to an area to the west,” he says, seemingly referring to the al-Mawasi area — where an Israeli settlement bloc once stood — which Israel has repeatedly suggested as an appropriate civilian safe zone.

Palestinians perform the first Friday noon prayer of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan over the ruins of of Al-Farouq Mosque on March 15, 2024 in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip (MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)

The station reports that US officials estimate that moving civilians out of Rafah will take weeks at least, with such an operation requiring the area to be “flooded” with food, and for living quarters or temporary shelters to be constructed there.

Katz says “There are Arab countries who can help with putting up tents, or other things, in the framework of humanitarian action.”