Democratic gains in the United States Congress are sharpening the case inside Israel for a coalition that can remove Benjamin Netanyahu, whose foreign policy has leaned heavily on Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

Opposition figures argue that the midterm result raises the cost of sticking with a prime minister many incoming American lawmakers treat as politically toxic. Yair Lapid urged Israelis not to write off Washington and floated a charm campaign by officials of a prospective new government to rebuild trust across the Atlantic.

That pitch drew a sharp reply from New York congressman elect Brad Lander, a Democrat who describes himself as a liberal Zionist. He said American voters, Jewish and non Jewish, want respect for international law and human rights rather than another barnstorming tour, and he pointed to the detention of Palestinian journalist Abed Abu Shehada as an example of practices that alienate allies.

Lander and two other incoming Jewish members of Congress wrote to Israel’s ambassador calling for Abu Shehada’s immediate release after reports that masked security officers took him from his home without a warrant and questioned him about a podcast interview.

For decades bipartisan backing in Washington was treated as a strategic foundation for Israeli security policy. Critics say Netanyahu broke that pattern by aligning so closely with one American party. They now warn that the gamble looks dangerous after Republicans lost ground.

At the same time, many in Israel read the midterms as part of a longer shift that will constrain any future prime minister, not only Netanyahu. Military and diplomatic support from the United States remains central, so whoever forms the next government will still have to navigate a cooler and more conditional mood in Congress.

The opposition remains split on personalities and red lines, including how to handle parties representing Palestinian citizens of Israel. The midterm shock does not invent a majority, but it raises the political price of failure to assemble one while Netanyahu stays closely identified with Trump’s camp.