Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) led 44 Democratic colleagues and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with the Democrats, in a letter urging U.S. President Donald Trump to tell Israel that he is opposed to Israel annexing territory in Judea and Samaria.
All of the Democrats in the Senate signed the letter except Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), one of Israel’s staunchest supporters in Congress.
“Since your plan for Gaza does not address the West Bank, it is imperative that your administration reinforce your comments and emphasize its opposition to annexation,” the senators wrote.
“As longstanding supporters of Israel’s security and Palestinian aspirations for statehood, we are unified in our opposition to unilateral measures by either party that undermine the prospect of lasting peace through negotiations to achieve a two-state solution,” they added.
The senators said that one thing that would undermine peace would be “any steps by Israel to annex territory or expand settlements that prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
“Such steps have elicited deep concern and opposition from Arab partners and place at risk your past achievements under the Abraham Accords and the possibility of expanding them further,” they said. “At the same time, terrorism, including the horrific terrorist attack of Oct. 7, 2023, must be uniformly condemned and will not bring the region closer to peace.”
