Pro-Israel senator threatens to cut support over sovereignty plan

Senator Lindsey Graham warns Israel against annexing Judea and Samaria, says the Jewish state must embrace Palestinian statehood.

By World Israel News Staff

A pro-Israel stalwart in the US Senate warned last week that Israel will lose American support if it applies sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, adding that the Jewish state must ultimately embrace the idea of Palestinian statehood.

On Friday, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) joined a Republican Jewish Coalition summit in Las Vegas.

On the sidelines of the event, Graham told The Jerusalem Post that efforts by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition government and an opposition party to apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria would, if successful, jeopardize American support for Israel.

“A one-state solution would either end Israel as a Jewish state or leave millions without rights, which the world will not accept,” said Graham. “To be pro-Israel, you need to be honest with Israel.”

Graham added that Israel must find a pathway toward a two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“There is no alternative,” he said, arguing that annexation would “marginalize” Israel and pose more of a threat to the Jewish state’s future than “any bomb Iran could ever build.”

“If you want to marginalize the Jewish state, go down that road,” Graham continued. “You would lose support here in America, and you would isolate Israel from the world.”

“There are a billion Muslims. If you imagine a new Middle East with no Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, you are living in a dream world.”

Instead, Graham said Israel should focus on reaching “real security arrangements” with moderate elements within Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, and to help raise the standard of living for Palestinian Arabs.

“Do not tell me things cannot change. Germany and Japan were the most radicalized places on the planet. Over the arc of time, they changed. I would never ask Israel to accept a Palestinian state that could generate another October 7th. But over time, with different leadership and real security guarantees, you can have a Palestinian partner that lives in peace with Israel.”