Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had requested to address Senate Democrats at their caucus lunch on Wednesday but was denied by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), political news daily Punchbowl News reported on Wednesday.
Axios, citing two sources familiar with the discussions, reported that Schumer rejected Netanyahu's request to address Democrats via video.
The Prime Minister addressed Senate Republicans at their lunch on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the Democratic Senator told Axios that the request was declined because Schumer "does not think these discussions should happen in a partisan manner."
The Senate Majority leader attacked the Israeli Prime Minister in an address last week saying that he "has lost his way" and calling him an "obstacle to peace."
“The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel," he said. "The Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.”
"This is a grave mistake for Israel, for Palestinians, for the region, and for the world," he claimed. "The only real and sustainable solution to this decades-old conflict is a negotiated two-state solution."
According to Schumer, Netanyahu has "dangerous and inflammatory policies that test existing U.S. standards for assistance.”
“If Prime Minister Netanyahu’s current coalition remains in power after the war begins to wind down, and continues to pursue dangerous and inflammatory policies that test existing US standards for assistance, then the United States will have no choice but to play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course," he said.