Senator Baldwin Releases Statement on Israel-Hamas Peace Agreement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) released the following statement after President Donald Trump announced Israel and Hamas have signed off on the first phase of a peace agreement.

"This agreement is long overdue but welcome news. While not every issue has been resolved, Israel and Hamas have taken the first and needed step towards peace.

"Since Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel that murdered 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds more hostage, I have held firm the belief that Israel was well within its rights and bounds to defend itself. I still believe that. But over the past two years, we have seen the Netanyahu government inflict unspeakable harms to Palestinian civilians, fail to recover the remaining hostages, and push the Middle East to the brink of a regional war. My heart still hurts for the victims, their families, their loved ones and the communities that will never be the same.

"For nearly two years, I have called for this war to end, for all the hostages to be released, and aid to be surged into Gaza. That was, and still is, the only path to both self-determination for the Palestinian people and security for the Israeli people. While that North Star may not be in reach today, we are taking a step closer to it by ending this war. This administration must ensure that both sides honor their respective commitments within this deal and recommit our nation to supporting a path to a two-state solution.

"This war's impact stretches well beyond the Middle East. It has caused trauma and hardship here in Wisconsin. It has seeded the ground for unacceptable antisemitism and Islamophobia and turned our neighbors against one another. As this deadly conflict hopefully comes to a close, I pray that Wisconsinites can come together too, to condemn hate and violence where it exists in our communities, and move forward, together."

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