- January 24, 2024
Murray Joins Colleagues in Cosponsoring Amendment Reaffirming Longstanding U.S. Support for a Two-State Solution
Amendment Reiterates Longstanding, Bipartisan Consensus on Need for Separate, Mutually-Recognized States for Israelis, Palestinians
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined 48 Senate colleagues in announcing plans to file an amendment to the forthcoming national security supplemental package that reiterates longstanding U.S. policy in support of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“We must be unequivocal: a two-state solution is the only path to achieving lasting peace so that Israelis and Palestinians can live alongside each other with the security and dignity they deserve,” said Senator Murray. “As we continue working to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza and support for our allies, this amendment makes clear it is the policy of the United States to support a comprehensive, negotiated solution to the conflict that ensures a peaceful and secure two-state future. Rejecting the prospect of a Palestinian state denies Palestinians the rights, dignity, and self-determination they deserve and jeopardizes Israel’s own security.”
The amendment, which is led by Senator Brian Schatz (D- Hawai‘i), was cosponsored by 48 Senators including Senator Murray, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.).
The amendment reads:
It is the policy of the United States—(1) to support a negotiated comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace, security, and mutual recognition; and (2) that such a solution must ensure the state of Israel’s survival as a secure, democratic, and Jewish state, and fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a state of their own.
Full text is available HERE.
###
