Benjamin Netanyahu is racist, says Democratic hopeful Beto O'Rourke

[Scurrilous]

Remarks come two days before elections in which Netanyahu hopes to win fifth term as PM

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"Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic White House hopeful, has weighed in on Israel’s election, describing the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as a racist and obstacle to peace in the Middle East.

“The US-Israel relationship is one of the most important relationships that we have on the planet,” O’Rourke said on a campaign stop at the University of Iowa. “And that relationship, if it is to be successful, must transcend partisanship in the United States, and it must be able to transcend a prime minister who is racist.”

Netanyahu hopes to win a fifth term in office in elections on Tuesday. He intends to form a coalition with the support of ultranationalist factions, including Jewish Power, whose members have called for the expulsion of Arabs.

O’Rourke, a former Texas congressman, condemned Netanyahu for siding with a “far-right racist party in order to maintain his hold on power”. He said the Israeli leader had defied any prospect for peace after making a last-minute election pledge this weekend to annex Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/08/benjamin-netanyahu-is-racist-says-democratic-hopeful-beto-orourke