Four Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz to express opposition to Israel possibly applying sovereignty to the West Bank.
Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), David Price (D-N.C.) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) signed the letter.
“We have consistently endorsed the pursuit of a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians resulting in two states for two peoples and a brighter future for the Israeli people and the Palestinian people,” they wrote. “In that vein, we write today to express our deep concern that the push for unilateral annexation of territory in the West Bank after July 1st will make these goals harder to achieve.”
The members of Congress also said that annexation “risks insecurity in Jordan, with serious ancillary risks to Israel.”
They added that “finally, unilateral annexation could create serious problems for Israel with its European friends and other partners around the world. We do not see how any of these acute risks serve the long-term interest of a strong, secure Israel.”
The letter by the four representatives add to the growing list of Democrats in both the House and U.S. Senate expressing opposition to the upcoming expected Israeli move.
Netanyahu’s government plans to enact annexation starting July 1.
