Democratic Senate caucus against E1 plan: "Israel is endangering its status"
30 out of 47 members of the caucus, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, called on the Israeli government to immediately cancel tenders for construction in Judea and Samaria. The senators called on the Trump administration to consider targeted sanctions: "The move will harm the two-state solution."
A group of 30 out of 47 members of the Democratic caucus in the Senate, about two-thirds of its members, published a joint statement on Friday against the Israeli government's decision to publish tenders for the construction of housing units in the E1 plan in Judea and Samaria.
Signatories include Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff, Jacky Rosen, Richard Blumenthal, Brian Schatz, and Elissa Slotkin. The move was led by Senator Ruben Gallego from Arizona. The statement follows another appeal from Wednesday by 45 senators to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against violence by settlers and the expansion of settlements.
"Construction in the E1 area will cut off East Jerusalem from major Palestinian population centers and make it very difficult to establish a viable and contiguous Palestinian state within the framework of the two-state solution. For decades, Republican and Democratic administrations have recognized that the development of E1 would seriously jeopardize the prospects for establishing a Palestinian state. This concern remains just as urgent today."
The senators added:
"At a time when settler violence, including violence against Palestinian Americans, is reaching unprecedented levels in the West Bank, and severe restrictions continue to harm Palestinian movement and the Palestinian economy, advancing construction in E1 could further undermine stability in the West Bank and make it harder to achieve a solution through negotiations."
"We call on the Israeli government to immediately cancel these tenders, stop the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, and take urgent action to curb settler violence," the statement said. "Without a change in course, Israel risks weakening its international standing and harming its prospects for long-term security. We also call on the Trump administration to make full use of its existing authorities, including the imposition of targeted sanctions on individuals and entities."
"The United States must remain committed to the two-state solution, which will bring lasting peace and security to both the Jewish and democratic State of Israel and a future Palestinian state. Construction in E1 will move us further away from this goal."
