Student protests anti-Semitic: Netanyahu

Israel PM

Netanyahu

said on Wednesday that

protests

at

US universities

against Israel's war in Gaza were "horrific" and should be stopped, using his first public comments on the subject to castigate the student demonstrators and portray them as

anti-Semitic

. Netanyahu's comments could harden division over the demonstrations. They could also give ammunition to Republicans who have criticised the protesters and accused university administrators and Democrats of failing to protect Jewish students from attack.

"What's happening in America's college campuses is horrific," Netanyahu said. "Anti-Semitic mobs have taken over leading universities. They call for the annihilation of Israel. They attack Jewish students. They attack Jewish faculty." It was not immediately possible to solicit a response from the students, who are not organised into a single group.