Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is leading the charge among some Democrats to condition aid to Israel if the country proceeds with its plan to annex portions of the West Bank.
In a letter addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, parts of which were leaked to the media, a dozen Democrats expressed their desire to condition U.S. aid to Israel if the nation’s military goes through with plans to start annexing parts of the territory later this week, according to Politico.
“Should the Israeli government continue down this path, we will work to ensure non-recognition of annexed territories as well as pursue legislation that conditions the $3.8 billion in U.S. military funding to Israel to ensure that U.S. taxpayers are not supporting annexation in any way,” the New York Democrat wrote.
“We will include human rights conditions and the withholding of funds for the offshore procurement of Israeli weapons equal to or exceeding the amount the Israeli government spends annually to fund settlements, as well as the policies and practices that sustain and enable them,” she added.
The letter went on to argue that such annexation would hurt the prospect of equality for Israelis and Palestinians in the area. The lawmakers argued that the Israeli government moving forward with the plan “would actively harm prospects for a future in which all Israelis and Palestinians can live with full equality, human rights and dignity, and would lay the groundwork for Israel becoming an apartheid state, as your predecessor John Kerry warned in 2014.”
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee condemned the letter on social media Monday.
“AIPAC opposes the letter being circulated by [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] — co-signed by [Rep. Pramila Jayapal], [Rep. Rashida Tlaib] & [Rep. Betty McCollum] — which explicitly threatens the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that would damage American interests, risk the security of Israel & make a two-state solution less likely,” the group tweeted.
AIPAC opposes the letter being circulated by @RepAOC—cosigned by @RepJayapal, @RepRashida & @BettyMcCollum04—which explicitly threatens the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that would damage American interests, risk the security of Israel & make a two-state solution less likely.
— AIPAC (@AIPAC) June 29, 2020
Former vice president and presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has previously come out against the idea of conditioning aid to Israel. Last fall, he said that he was “opposed to” Israeli settlements in the West Bank but also called the suggestion of using aid to leverage the foreign ally a “gigantic mistake.”
“Look, I have been on record from very early on opposed to the settlements, and I think it’s a mistake, and President [Benjamin] Netanyahu knows my position. But the idea that we would draw military assistance from Israel on the condition that they change a specific policy I find to be absolutely outrageous,” he said while speaking to reporters.
Along with Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, McCollum, and Jayapal, the letter was signed by Reps. Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Raul Grijalva, Andre Carson, Nydia Velazquez, Bobby Rush, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, and Danny Davis, as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders.
