(Washington) More than a third of Democratic members of the US Senate on Wednesday called on President Joe Biden to push further for the creation of a Palestinian state, at a time when Washington is increasingly displaying its impatience with its relative Israeli partner.
This initiative comes a few days after the surprise speech by the leader of the Democratic senators in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, calling for new elections in Israel and openly criticizing the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for its management of the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The crisis in the Middle East “has reached a critical point” that requires the United States to do more than just “facilitate” discussions between Israelis and Palestinians, write in an open letter the 19 senators led by Tom Carper, partner Joe Biden’s policy for years.
“We therefore ask the Biden administration to quickly put in place and make public a solid plan detailing the necessary measures” for the creation of a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, they add.
But this state should, according to them, be “non-military”, recognize Israel and reject Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement which led the bloody attack on Israeli soil on October 7, leading to the death of at least 1,160 people. most civilians, according to an AFP count established from official Israeli sources.
Since then, Israel has promised to annihilate Hamas with an offensive that has caused a humanitarian disaster, leaving nearly 32,000 dead in Gaza so far, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry of Hamas, in power in the besieged territory.
The impact of this offensive on civilians, in particular an imminent famine, bothers the Biden administration, Israel’s primary supporter, amid criticism from some Democrats.
If Joe Biden and his head of diplomacy Antony Blinken say they support the “two-state solution”, their words remain declarations of intent.
And Benjamin Netanyahu, at the head of a government with several far-right ministers, is categorically opposed to it.