WASHINGTON — Pro-Israel hawks in both parties on Capitol Hill are sounding the alarm that they are losing confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the war against Hamas.
While progressive lawmakers have consistently been critical of Netanyahu and Israel’s counterassault in the Gaza Strip that has leveled buildings and killed thousands of Palestinian civilians, it’s significant that pro-Israel lawmakers who serve on key national security panels are now voicing frustration about Netanyahu’s leadership, albeit quietly.
Three of the lawmakers who spoke to NBC News said they are even questioning whether the 74-year-old prime minister has a strategy to end the bloody war in Gaza and have suggested that the unpopular Netanyahu may be deliberately trying to prolong it in order to remain in power.
“It’s really hard to defend Bibi or to justify his political strategy in all of this,” said one House Republican who deals with national security issues and requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. “From a personal level, I think it’s to his political benefit to stay engaged in conflict, whether that’s with Hezbollah or whether that’s in Gaza. Any type of cease-fire or peace agreement, rebuilding effort or off-ramp is detrimental for him politically, and I think that factors in on what he’s doing.”
The Republican added: “There’s real distrust, there’s real questions about his ability to lead, and I think he’s very, very unpopular. I think you’re seeing that within his Cabinet. You’re seeing that within his coalition. You’re seeing that within the military, within the country. And I think that is front and center for a lot of policymakers here in the U.S. from a national security standpoint.”
A House Democrat who serves on a national security committee agreed with that assessment, calling Netanyahu a “disaster” and saying he’s highly concerned this military campaign could be an “endless war” with many more civilian casualties.
“It appears the Israeli government has given the IDF an unattainable mission, which is to eliminate Hamas. And if that is the mission that they expect the IDF to perform, then this is going to be an endless war,” said the Democratic lawmaker. “And in the meantime, countless, countless people are going to get innocently killed, and the devastation will be unacceptable.”
“Everybody has been a strong friend of Israel, but Netanyahu is a disaster,” said the Democrat, who called himself a “strong friend” of Israel. “And the worst part of it is, a lot of us fear that Netanyahu could potentially be stringing this out, because he knows that the moment that the conflict ends he’s out of a job. And so it doesn’t take rocket science to understand that for a craven politician like that, the current situation is just fine. But for everyone else, it’s horrible.”
In a statement to NBC News, the prime minister’s office rejected the lawmakers’ comments that Netanyahu may be deliberately dragging out the war for political purposes.
“The claim that Prime Minister Netanyahu is prolonging the war unnecessarily is utter nonsense. The IDF chief of staff has said that this will be a long war which will take ‘many months.’ While significant progress has been made, more needs to be done to achieve the goals set by Israel’s cabinet — destroying Hamas, returning Israel’s hostages and permanently demilitarizing Gaza,” Netanyahu’s office said in the statement.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu is committed to achieving this total victory and the people of Israel are overwhelmingly united in continuing the war effort until it is achieved.”
Mounting frustration
The growing anger at Netanyahu on Capitol Hill echoes the Biden administration’s mounting frustration with the leader of one of the United States’ closest foreign allies. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the Middle East last week and pitched a proposal to get Israel and Arab leaders to agree on a path forward for Gaza after the war ends. But Netanyahu rejected the proposal.
Biden and Netanyahu, who have known each other for decades, spoke by phone on Friday to discuss Israeli operations in Gaza, increasing the flow of flour shipments and other humanitarian assistance into Gaza, and efforts to free hostages, the White House official said. It was the first time they had spoken since Dec. 23, the longest stretch that the leaders had been out of touch since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel. The pre-Christmas call, U.S. officials said, had ended abruptly in a disagreement over Israel’s refusal to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues it has been withholding from the Palestinian Authority since the war began.
“I’m extremely…
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