The Israeli prime minister is one of four obstacles to peace in the Middle East, Mr Schumer claimed, along with Hamas, Right-wing Israelis, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader.

If Mr Netanyahu remains in power, he said, the US should “use the tools at its disposal to make sure our support for Israel is aligned with our broader goal of achieving long-term peace and stability in the region”.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s Republican leader, quickly came to Mr Netanyahu’s defence after Mr Schumer’s unusually long 45-minute speech.

“It is grotesque… and hypocritical… for Americans who hyperventilate about foreign interference in our own democracy to call for the removal of the democratically elected leader of Israel. This is unprecedented,” said Mr McConnell.

The Israeli ambassador to the US described Mr Schumer’s comments as “unhelpful”. “Israel is a sovereign democracy,” Michael Herzog wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

“It is unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal terror organisation Hamas, to comment on the domestic political scene of a democratic ally. It is counterproductive to our common goals.”