Senate Democrats urge ‘bold’ US push on Palestinian state

The letter sent on Wednesday to Biden comes days after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the country’s highest-ranking Jewish elected leader and longtime advocate for Israel, sent shock waves with a speech criticising Netanyahu’s conduct of the Gaza war and urging new Israeli elections.

Nineteen Democratic senators led by Tom Carper, a longtime ally of Biden from his home state of Delaware, wrote that the Middle East crisis had “reached an inflection point” that required US leadership beyond past “facilitation” of Israeli-Palestinian talks.

“As such, we request the Biden administration promptly establish a bold, public framework outlining the steps necessary” to establish a Palestinian state over both the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the senators wrote.

They said an independent Palestinian state would be “non-militarised” —terminology embraced by former president Bill Clinton in his peace push two decades ago — and would recognise Israel while renouncing Hamas.

The senators called for a “regional peace initiative” also. Biden and Blinken have repeatedly voiced support for a two-state solution but did little to advance it before the war, aware that Netanyahu and his hard-right government are firmly against the idea.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has built close relations with the rival Republicans, whose presumptive nominee to challenge Biden in November, Donald Trump, staunchly backed Israeli positions during his time as president.

The Israeli leader meanwhile addressed the minority Senate Republicans via video link on Wednesday, giving a presentation on the military operation and taking questions.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, the top elected US Republican, said he spoke with Netanyahu at length by telephone earlier in the day and expressed “strong disagreement” with Schumer.

Schumer was asked in a separate news conference about media reports that Netanyahu had also asked to address Democrats but was turned down.

“When you make these issues partisan, you hurt the cause of Israel,” Schumer said, without directly confirming the reporting.

“I gave this speech out of a real love for Israel and, if you read the speech, we called only for there to be an election after the hostilities had declined, after Hamas was defeated,” he added.