Pro-Israel scholar: Netanyahu, Smotrich, Ben Gvir ‘moving headlong’ to making Israel a pariah state

A prominent scholar at a conservative, pro-Israel think tank rips into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “moving headlong to make Israel an international pariah state,” in the latest indication that outrage over the premier has extended across the political spectrum and into a camp of the Jewish state’s longtime supporters.

“More West Bank settlements is a direct F**K You from Netanyahu to Biden and the US,” American Enterprise Institute senior emeritus scholar Norm Ornstein tweets, referring to the Israeli expropriation of nearly 2,000 acres of West Bank land on Friday while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the country.

“I did not want to say this, but I think it’s time to cut off arms. Netanyahu and his thugs like Smotrich and Ben Gvir are moving headlong to make Israel an international pariah state,” Ornstein says.

More West Bank settlements is a direct Fuck You from Netanyahu to Biden and the US. I did not want to say this, but I think it’s time to cut off arms. Netanyahu and his thugs like Smotrich and Ben Gvir are moving headlong to make Israel an international pariah state.

— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) March 23, 2024

“I would like to see some evidence that [war cabinet minister] Benny Gantz and other reasonable people who are a part of the war cabinet are making a difference. If not, it’s time to leave and not be tainted by these outrageous acts,” he adds.