Warner and Colleagues Issue Statement Urging Trump in Monday Meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu to End the War, Bring Home the Hostages, End the Suffering of Palestinians in[...]

Washington- U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released the following statement ahead of President Trump's meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu:

"As President Trump prepares to welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu to the White House for the fourth time in the last 10 months, we urge the President to finally reach agreement to end the war in Gaza, end the suffering, and bring the hostages held by Hamas home.

"Monday's meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu is a critical opportunity for the President to stand by his statements that "a deal is close" to end the war in Gaza. Importantly, President Trump must press Prime Minister Netanyahu to accept a hostage ceasefire framework proposed by the United States and its partners and ensure Hamas accepts it. It is long past time to secure an agreement that brings home the hostages, includes military withdrawals of the IDF from Gaza, that allow unhindered and overwhelming flows of humanitarian aid, and leads to the complete and permanent cessation of hostilities. As we approach the two-year anniversary of the October 7^th attack, it is clear that only a hostage ceasefire agreement can bring home all the hostages -including American Itay Chen and Omer Neutra-and ensure Israel's long-term security, not the ongoing and increasing large-scale military operations in Gaza. Any long-term plan for Gaza must both ensure Israel's security and meet the desperately-needed large-scale humanitarian, reconstruction, and governance needs in Gaza, deny Hamas a role in Gaza's future, reject plans of displacement of Palestinians and provide dignity for Palestinians. We welcome the active role of Arab and regional leaders in this effort.

"This meeting also comes at a critical time for the West Bank amid Prime Minister Netanyahu's irresponsible threats of potential annexation and prevention of a future Palestinian state as a part of a negotiated two-state solution. We commend President Trump's statement that he will "not allow annexation" of the West Bank and urge him to use this meeting to get tangible commitments that take annexation off the table. This statement underscores the long-standing policy of Republicans and Democrats alike to reject unilateral steps in the West Bank that undermine the prospects for peace. Such steps include unilateral annexation, continued settlement activity that is illegal under international and Israeli law, construction in the E1 settlement block around Jerusalem, forced displacement of Palestinians, violations of the status quo, and other steps that make impossible a future where Israelis and Palestinians, along with the rest of the region's citizens, can live in equal measures of peace, security, dignity, prosperity, and mutual recognition.

"Now is the time to finally end this war. President Trump must secure a ceasefire agreement to end the war in Gaza, bring home the hostages, surge humanitarian aid to Gaza, take the dangerous step of annexation off the table, and begin the path to lasting peace."

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