‘EVERYTHING is on the table’: Elizabeth Warren says Israel could lose its U.S. aid money if she’s president and they don’t stop building West Bank settlements
- Elizabeth Warren said ‘everything’ is on the table regarding U.S.-Israeli relations if she becomes president
- Could take away U.S. aide to Israel if it does not stop building settlements in the Palestinian West Bank
- ‘Netanyahu says that he is going to take Israel in a direction of increasing settlements, that does not move us toward a two-state solution,’ she said
- Donald Trump and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu have a strong relationship
- Democrats are more critical of the Israeli prime minister
Elizabeth Warren warned Saturday that if she becomes president she could make aid to Israel conditional on it stopping settlement in the West Bank.
The 2020 Democratic presidential contender said during a campaign stop in Iowa over the weekend that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would need to cease settlement expansion in the Palestinian territory in Israel.
‘Right now, Netanyahu says that he is going to take Israel in a direction of increasing settlements, that does not move us toward a two-state solution,’ Warren said when asked what her stance was on aid and settlement-building in that region.
She insists any actions she feels does not move toward a two-state solution is against the foreign policy stance of the U.S.
‘It is the official policy of the United States of America to support a two-state solution, and if Israel is moving in the opposite direction, then everything is on the table,’ she said
Elizabeth Warren said ‘everything’ is on the table regarding U.S.-Israeli relations – including taking away aide to Israel if it does not stop building settlements in the Palestinian West Bank
When a reporter attempted to ask a follow up question about what she was prepared to do in reaction to this action, the Massachusetts senator cut the reporter off a repeated, ‘Everything is on the table.’
The Trump administration has established a strong relationship with Israel and Netanyhau and is not critical of Iraeli settlements.
Trump even signed an executive order recognizing part of Golan Heights as an Israeli territory after Israeli government constructed settlements in the region. The area was later named Trump Heights, after the U.S. president.
In December 2017, almost a full year into his presidency, Trump officially recognized Jerusalem, a holy city for Jews, Christians and Mulsims, as Israel’s capital.
Warren has emerged as a front-runner candidate in recent polls where she even recently surpassed No. 1 contender Joe Biden, who was destroying every other candidate in polls for months.
Democrats, including Warren and fellow progressive 2020 candidate Bernie Sanders, have criticized Israel for its settlement and construction efforts in West Bank, which is located in the central eastern part of the country and border’s Jerusalem.
Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have a strong relationship, but Democrats are more critical of the Israeli leader
Some freshmen representatives, who were elected in the 2018 midterms, are critical of Israel and have been accused by right-wing lawmakers of being anti-Israel and sharing anti0-Semitic tropes.
Among the lawmakers accused of this are Representatives Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American, and Rashida Tlaib, whose parents are Palestinian.
Many Democrats have also been critical of the Middle Eastern nation’s treatment of Palestinian protesters.
‘The killing of Palestinian demonstrators by Israeli forces in Gaza is tragic. It is the right of all people to protest for a better future without a violent response,’ Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, tweeted last year after more than a dozen protesters were killed during a confrontation with Israeli security forces.
‘Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza remains a humanitarian disaster. The U.S. must play a more positive role in ending the Gaza blockade and helping Palestinians and Israelis build a future that works for all,’ he added.