WASHINGTON — Two Democratic lawmakers wrote to President Joe Biden on Thursday to ask him to continue pressuring Israel to crack down on Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
“As your government works tirelessly to prevent the expansion of this conflict, we are writing to specifically highlight the threat that violence in the West Bank—particularly vigilante violence by Israeli settlers—poses to these efforts, Israel’s short-term security, the human rights of Palestinians. and long-term regional peace,” Sen. Cory Booker, DN.J., and Rep. Dan Goldman, DN.Y., wrote in a letter first obtained by NBC News.
Goldman and Booker, the only two lawmakers who were in Israel at the time of the October 7 Hamas attack, argue that settler violence is undermining the Palestinian Authority, which they see as a critical partner in the effort to unify Gaza and the West Bank as part of a possible peace plan that creates a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
“We strongly believe that the two-state solution remains the only genuine option for achieving a just, secure and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians,” the lawmakers wrote. “However, settler violence against Palestinian civilians destroys the very seeds of trust and cooperation needed to make progress toward a two-state outcome and lasting peace in the region.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.
Israeli violence against Palestinians in the West Bank is one of the issues straining relations between the US and Israel, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this month that the incidents were “unacceptable”, according to the State Department . The lawmakers, both Biden allies with strong ties to Israel, appear to be bolstering his position at a sensitive time for his domestic politics and relationship with Netanyahu.
The letter falls short of the ceasefire that some Democratic members of Congress and many progressive activists want the US to pursue. But the call to pressure Israel to police its own people in the West Bank comes amid pro-Palestinian protests aimed at influencing the Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers. Protesters blocked access to the Democratic National Committee on Wednesday night, and pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested outside Goldman’s Brooklyn offices last week when they blocked traffic.
In addition to their broader call to pressure Israel over the violence in the West Bank, Booker and Goldman are specifically asking Biden to ensure that it does not take place with US-supplied weapons to Israel.
“As the US works to support Israel’s defense, we urge your administration to seek adequate assurances from the Israeli government that the weapons they provide will not be used to perpetuate settler violence in the West Bank,” they wrote.
