Democrats in Congress ask Beden to sanction Israeli ministers

Nearly 90 democratic lawmakers have called on US President Joe Biden to sanction members of the Israeli Prime Minister's Government, Benjamin Netanyahu, due to violence against Palestinians in the West Coast, according to a letter published Thursday.

Urging Beden to convey a message to US partners before leaving the White House, members of Congress said members of the Israeli cabinet, Finance Minister Bezale Smotrich and Minister for National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir have sparked violence from Israeli settlers in the occupied territory.

We're writing to express concern, say deep about the increased violence of the settlers, the expansion of the settlements, and the measures approved to weaken the Palestinian Authority, which destabilises the West Coast”, it says on paper.

In this letter, signed by 17 senators and 71 members of the House of Representatives, Israeli settlers have reportedly carried out over 1,270 recorded attacks against Palestinians in the West Coast, which occurs more than three violent attacks a day on average.

The letter, October 29th, was made public this Thursday because lawmakers had not received answers from the White House, three members of Congress said.

Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen and Democrat members of the House of Representatives, Rosa DeLauro and Sean Casten, told reporters that Biden has the authority to impose sanctions under an existing executive order.

They said such an act would send a message not only to Israel and Palestinians, but also to US allies in other parts of the world, that the United States would push humanitarian issues forward.

“We think it is more important than ever that President Beden now announces that the United States will not blindly support the extreme actions of the Netanyah government”, Van Hollen said.

The United States has been supporting for decades a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians and has called for Israel not to expand settlements.

The West Coast is among the territories Israel occupied in the Middle East war in 1967, and where Palestinians, with international support, seek to establish a state.

Most world powers consider the construction of Israelite settlements in that area illegal. Israel opposes this, citing historical claims on the West Coast and describing it as a security shield.

This week, Finance Minister Smotric pledged that in 2025 Israeli settlements in the occupied West Coast will be annexed, naming Donald Trump's return to power in the United States as the key “option”.

“Viti 2025, with God's help, will be the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria”, the minister of the extreme right, said, using Biblical names for the West Coast. / REL