[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5165-S5168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Israel

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I come to the floor today, as a strong 
supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship, to talk about why it was 
such a big mistake to invite Prime Minister Netanyahu to address a 
joint session of Congress and why I will not attend his speech 
tomorrow. I do not take this decision lightly, and I want to explain my 
reasons.
  At the outset, I want to underscore the importance of the longtime 
partnership between the people of the United States and the people of 
Israel. After the horrors of the Holocaust, the United States led the 
effort at the United Nations to advocate for the establishment of a 
homeland for the Jewish people. And then, in May 1948, the United 
States, under the leadership of President Harry Truman, became the 
first country to recognize the State of Israel. And that support--this 
solidarity--has held firm for 76 years, through many conflicts.

  That was especially true in the immediate aftermath of the vicious 
Hamas terror attack on October 7. Ten days later, President Biden 
traveled to Jerusalem to embrace the people of Israel and let them know 
that we, the United States, stand with them after that brutal massacre 
that killed over 1,200 people and seized over 250 hostages.
  Those bonds between the people of Israel and the people of the United 
States remain strong today. But the actions and words of Prime Minister 
Netanyahu and his ultra-right extremist coalition, both before and 
since the October 7 attacks, have weakened the ties between the United 
States and the Government of Israel.
  All of us who care about our partnership, both in America and in 
Israel, should understand the enormous damage that Prime Minister 
Netanyahu and his current extremist government coalition are doing to 
our relationship and to Israel's standing in the world.
  So it sends a terrible message to bring him here now to address a 
joint session of Congress. While we warmly welcomed President Herzog's 
speech to Congress just over a year ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu 
remains the leader of the most extreme rightwing government coalition 
in the history of Israel. It is the coalition he personally assembled 
in a desperate bid to regain power and to prevent a possible prison 
sentence.
  To do that, he formed a government with certain individuals who had 
previously been on the dangerous, most extreme fringes of Israeli 
politics and considered totally unfit to govern. They include the likes 
of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, both unabashed racists and religious bigots. 
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak referred to them ``as the 
racist messianic fanatics with whom Netanyahu has cast his lot.''
  That is former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
  In fact, they are the ideological successors to the extremist Meir 
Kahane, who wanted to ban relations between Jews and non-Jews and expel 
all Palestinians. Kahane was banned by the Israeli Supreme Court from 
participating in Israeli politics decades ago, and his party was placed 
on the U.S. Terror Watchlist.
  But in 2023, Prime Minister Netanyahu gave those ideological 
descendants of Meir Kahane--Ben-Gvir and Smotrich--key powerful 
government positions. These are the individuals who now control Prime 
Minister Netanyahu's political fate, who threatened to withdraw their 
support and bring down his government if he fails to do their bidding. 
And, in many ways, they are now calling the shots when it comes to the 
policy decisions of the Government of Israel--in Israel, in the West 
Bank, and in Gaza. They have also made it abundantly clear that, when 
it comes to the war in Gaza, they do not prioritize the safe return of 
all the hostages, including American citizens taken by Hamas.
  President Biden has prioritized the safe return of all the hostages. 
Prime Minister Netanyahu has not. He continues to put his own political 
survival first, above the interests of the people of Israel and those 
American citizens.
  I renew my call for an immediate cease-fire and the return of all the 
hostages.
  Just last Friday, 4 days ago, during a visit to Israel, I met with 
Israeli families, including American citizens, whose loved ones had 
been brutally murdered by Hamas on October 7. Some of them lost 
parents; others lost siblings or children. All of them--all of them--
have faced tremendous personal trauma and suffering.
  So I was shocked to learn that none of the family members that I met 
with had heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu or any member of his 
government since that horrific Hamas attack. That is hard to fathom. 
Neither the Prime Minister nor any member of his government had reached 
out to them to offer a helping hand.
  So I say to Prime Minister Netanyahu: Before you come speak to 
Members of Congress, go meet with the families I saw whose loved ones 
were murdered on October 7.
  I also met, in Tel Aviv, this past Friday, with families whose loved 
ones were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, including American citizens. 
Some of them had their loved ones returned safely as a part of the 
agreement reached last November. Others said they have been told that 
their loved ones have died. Most held out hope that their loved ones 
were still alive. All of those that I met with expressed deep, deep 
disappointment in the fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu has not 
prioritized the safe and swift return of the remaining hostages.
  Recent polls indicate that large swaths of the Israeli people--over 
70 percent--want Prime Minister Netanyahu to resign now or when the war 
ends, and that is certainly what I heard from many Israelis during my 
visit to Israel last week. They saw the Prime Minister's invitation to 
address a joint session of Congress as a political stunt to help him in 
his efforts to escape legal and political accountability for his 
actions and inactions, including the massive intelligence failure that 
allowed the October 7 attack to have such devastating consequences.
  That sentiment that I heard expressed directly was captured by a 
headline in the Jerusalem Post on the same day I met with those 
families. That headline reads:

       Protesters call on Netanyahu to delay flight to US until 
     hostage deal is closed.

  The protesters stated that Prime Minister Netanyahu ``is running away 
from the hostage families, running away from a deal, running away from 
decisions about the day after.'' I agree with those families.
  What I heard directly from many Israelis was also described by a 
piece written by a well-known and well-regarded Israeli writer and 
journalist by the name of Amir Tibon. Amir Tibon's family survived 
October 7 by hiding for hours--hours--huddled in darkness inside a safe 
room of their family home until his father arrived at the kibbutz and 
heroically saved them.
  Here is what Amir wrote in the Haaretz newspaper back on June 2:

       There is nothing ``pro-Israel'' about this invitation. It 
     is not ``pro-Israel'' to side with Netanyahu's party against 
     the brave families of the hostages, who are fighting to 
     secure a deal for their release.
  ``It is not `pro-Israel,' '' he wrote, ``to help Netanyahu address 
Congress while knowing that since October 7th he has not found the time 
to speak with any of the Israeli communities invaded by Hamas under his 
watch.''
  Or take this June 26 op-ed in the New York Times, entitled ``We Are 
Israelis

[[Page S5166]]

Calling on Congress to Disinvite Netanyahu.'' It is written by five 
individuals, and I think it is worth the Senate knowing their 
backgrounds. They are David Harel, the president of the Israel Academy 
of Sciences and Humanities; Tamir Pardo, the former director of Mossad, 
Israel's foreign intelligence services; Talia Sasson, former director 
of the Special Tasks Department in Israel's State Attorney's Office; 
Ehud Barak, former Israeli Prime Minister; Aaron Ciechanover, Nobel 
Prize winner in chemistry; and David Grossman, renowned novelist and 
essayist.
  Here is what they say:

       Mr. Netanyahu's appearance in Washington will not represent 
     the State of Israel and its citizens, and it will reward his 
     scandalous and destructive conduct toward our country.

  They go on to say:

       Giving Mr. Netanyahu this stage in Washington will all but 
     dismiss the rage and pain of his people, as expressed in the 
     demonstrations throughout the country. American lawmakers 
     should not let that happen. They should ask Mr. Netanyahu to 
     stay home.

  Well, Mr. Netanyahu is not staying home--he is coming here--but I 
will respect those voices and stay away from the joint session and urge 
my colleagues to do the same.
  I will also not attend Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech for another 
reason--because his actions and those of his extremist coalition 
represent a terrible betrayal of our shared values and our shared 
interests. Successive Democratic and Republican administrations have 
underscored that our bilateral relationship--our special relationship--
is based on shared values.
  But make no mistake, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his ultra-rightwing 
government do not share those values. As others who have followed and 
written about the United States-Israel relationship for decades have 
noted, he has done more than anyone to damage the special relationship 
between the United States and Israel. The damage is being done, and the 
evidence is abundant.
  I am going to spend a little time discussing these matters because I 
just returned from a trip to the UAE, to Saudi Arabia, to Israel, and 
to the West Bank, and I want to share with my colleagues in the Senate 
some of my findings.
  I am not going to focus today on the war in Gaza. I have said many 
times, including on this Senate floor, that Israel not only has the 
right but it has the duty to defend itself in the aftermath of the 
Hamas massacres and the seizure of hostages on October 7.
  I have also repeatedly said that how wars are conducted matters. They 
must be conducted according to the rules of war and ensure the required 
precautions are taken to protect the lives of innocent civilians.
  They must also be conducted in a way that allows innocent civilians 
to receive desperately needed humanitarian assistance and medical care. 
As of today, more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, over half 
of them women and children. For those who doubt those numbers, you are 
right: Credible accounts like estimates from Johns Hopkins University 
in my State of Maryland and The Lancet medical journal project the 
overall death toll is likely much higher.
  Ten months into this war, the humanitarian situation remains 
catastrophic. Access to basic humanitarian needs--water, food, 
medicine, shelter, and basic sanitation--is punishingly scarce. Open 
sewers are running through the streets, and polio was recently detected 
in the wastewater in Gaza. There is a real risk of the outbreak of 
cholera.
  Gaza is a wasteland as anybody can see from the photographs. We must 
end this war, and we must bring all the hostages safely home. And in 
order to prevent any more October 7s, we must both end the military 
threat from Hamas and create hope for a better future for the 
overwhelming majority of the Palestinian people who have nothing to do 
with Hamas.
  I was deeply moved by the humanity and strength of the Israeli 
families whom I met with just last Friday who lost loved ones on 
October 7. They--they--stress the importance of distinguishing between 
the Hamas terrorists and the vast majority of the Palestinian people in 
both Gaza and the West Bank who have nothing to do with Hamas; and in 
the midst of their ongoing, profound grief, they were determined to 
find a way forward to achieve peace, security, and dignity for all 
people, to find some light at the end of this very, very dark tunnel. 
In fact, the families I met with believe strongly that peace and long-
term security for their families and for all Israelis and Palestinians 
can only be achieved by securing and ensuring dignity, freedom, 
justice, and self-determination for all.
  I was inspired by their humanity. I have been similarly inspired by 
Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank who are determined to live 
in peace despite the terrible personal losses they have suffered.
  I wish every American--every American--had the opportunity to hear 
directly from these Israelis and these Palestinians.
  The United States and most of the world recognize that, in order to 
ensure the long-term security of Israelis and Palestinians, both 
peoples must enjoy equal measures of dignity and the right of self-
determination. That is why it has long been the policy of the United 
States, both under Democratic and Republican administrations, to 
support a two-state solution that establishes a viable Palestinian 
State alongside the State of Israel, with clear security guarantees for 
all. That is the plan President Biden has laid out to light a little 
flicker of hope for long-term peace at this very dark time.

  President Biden has coupled his call for a two-state solution with 
his push for the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi 
Arabia and other Arab States that have yet to recognize the State of 
Israel. Those actions would also further strengthen Israel's security 
and provide greater stability throughout the region.
  But how was President Biden's call for a two-state solution--even one 
accompanied by a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia--greeted by 
Prime Minister Netanyahu? What did the Prime Minister say in response? 
He slapped it down; dismissed it entirely.
  That was Prime Minister Netanyahu's reaction to the plan presented by 
the American President, Joe Biden, who not only visited Jerusalem in 
the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attacks but immediately deployed 
U.S. carrier groups to the region to deter potential escalation by 
Hezbollah and others; the President of the United States who organized 
a $14 billion supplemental military assistance package to Israel 
despite concerns about the conduct of the war; the President of the 
United States who has deployed the U.S. Navy to defend shipping lanes 
in the Red Sea from Houthis' attacks; the President of the United 
States who, on April 13, deployed American air defenses and engaged 
partners in the region to help Israel successfully intercept Iranian 
missiles and drones.
  Prime Minister Netanyahu and his rightwing coalition continue to 
rebuff calls from President Biden and the U.N. Security Council for a 
two-state solution.
  It is very important to understand what--what--is driving Prime 
Minister Netanyahu's opposition to the creation of a Palestinian State 
because it is not because it would create an unacceptable security 
risk; he knows full well those issues have been addressed on the West 
Bank through a demilitarized state. American and Israeli military 
experts, including organizations called Commanders for Israel's 
Security, have demonstrated that over and over again. No, Prime 
Minister Netanyahu's opposition is much more fundamental than that.
  It is because he and his extremist allies, like Smotrich and Ben-
Gvir, want the land of the West Bank to be fully incorporated into the 
State of Israel. They want to complete their messianic vision of a 
Greater Israel that includes all of the West Bank. Indeed, that goal is 
plainly written out for all to see in their coalition government 
platform. Take a look at it. By their telling, God gave the West Bank 
to Israel, and the Palestinians are interlopers there.
  In fact, Smotrich has said:

       There is no such thing as a Palestinian people.

  As former Israeli Prime Minister Olmert has pointed out, the Israeli 
right's messianic vision is driving opposition to its two-state 
solution and inciting violence against Palestinians on the West Bank.

[[Page S5167]]

  And make no mistake about it, the Netanyahu government is working 
every day to implement this vision of a Greater Israel by enabling 
violent settlers on the West Bank to push Palestinians off their land, 
to steal their grazing areas, to destroy their olive groves, and to 
establish illegal outposts.
  This is all happening in plain sight. I invite my colleagues to go 
and see it for themselves. We are all witnessing ongoing settler 
violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, including Palestinian 
Americans. The consequences of this violence are dire.
  Last week, I also visited Ramallah, and I met with Palestinian-
American families whose 17-year-old sons, in separate incidents, were 
murdered on the West Bank--each of them shot in the back of the head. 
The United States has not been able to obtain from Israeli authorities 
information on the status of any investigations, if there are any, into 
the killings of these American citizens.
  During my trip, I also met in Jerusalem with our U.S. Security 
Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He is a three-
star general. His name is General Fenzel, and he has helped document 
the alarming rise in extremist settler violence and land seizures. He 
has repeatedly warned that these actions will further inflame an 
already explosive situation on the West Bank.
  Earlier this month, Israel's top IDF official in the West Bank, Major 
General Yehuda Fuchs, in his retirement statement, echoed these 
warnings about unchecked extremist settler violence--this very recently 
retired Israeli major general--saying:

       Unfortunately, in recent months, nationalist crime has 
     reared its ugly head, and under the auspices of war and the 
     desire for revenge, it has sown chaos and fear among the 
     Palestinian residents who did not pose any threat.

  The Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, summarized the retiring general's 
full remarks in their headline, which read:

       In His Retirement Speech, Israel's Top Officer in West Bank 
     Revealed the Hidden Truth.

  General Fuchs' statement is a powerful admission that, while 
international attention has been focused in the war in Gaza, the 
extremist Netanyahu government, led by Smotrich--who, by the way, in 
March 2023, said that Israel should erase the Palestinian village of 
Hawara--has accelerated its use of settlers and other mechanisms to 
assault Palestinians in the West Bank and seize their lands.
  Indeed, according to Israeli human rights groups, the Netanyahu 
government has poured gasoline on the fire by approving the largest 
land seizure in the West Bank in over three decades, allowing the 
proliferation of settlements and connecting illegal outposts with 
essential infrastructure.
  In June of last year, I raised some of these issues in a meeting in 
Jerusalem with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Specifically, Senators 
Merkley, Lujan, and I raised the issue of Palestinians in the South 
Hebron Hills, who we had met with, who had been attacked by armed 
settlers, pushed off their lands, and denied access to their water 
wells.
  Prime Minister Netanyahu at the time suggested he was unaware of 
these incidents, even though they had been already widespread and 
reported. He said he would look into the situation and get back to us. 
He never did.
  I want to applaud the Biden administration for issuing an Executive 
order to address the actions by these extremist settlers that, under 
the cover of the Netanyahu government, clearly are undermining peace 
and stability in the West Bank. I once again call upon the 
administration to take urgent action to expand the scope of those 
sanctions to cover all entities and individuals who are directly or 
indirectly orchestrating these attacks, seizing Palestinian lands, and 
breeding a culture of impunity, including Smotrich.
  Time is of the essence to prevent the situation from spiraling even 
further out of control. These seizures of Palestinian lands in what is 
called Area C of the West Bank has been accompanied by a calculated 
campaign by this Netanyahu government to undermine the Palestinian 
Authority's ability to administer those areas over which it exercises 
greater control, the areas known as A and B.
  The Netanyahu government, with Smotrich wielding his power as 
minister of finance, is financially squeezing the Palestinian Authority 
by withholding ever-increasing amounts of their own funds. These are 
funds that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority in 
the form of customs duties. It belongs to the Palestinians, and it is 
needed to pay for all of the individuals involved in the Palestinian 
civil administration on the West Bank, from teachers to healthcare 
workers to police to the Palestinian Authority's security forces that, 
by the way, the United States helps to train and whose salaries have 
now been cut dramatically.
  These actions, plus the steep rise in the number of security 
checkpoints in the West Bank and the big drop in the number of work 
permits for Palestinians in the West Bank to work in Israel, have 
significantly constrained movement and are strangling the economy in 
the West Bank and contributing to an even more volatile situation. 
Secretary Treasurer Yellen has spoken to these issues.
  The Netanyahu government knows full well that Smotrich seeks to use 
this power to deliberately collapse the Palestinian Authority. He has 
expressly stated that goal. He makes no secret about it.
  In his retirement speech, General Fuchs also warned about how 
reckless that would be, stating that ``the ability of the Central 
Command to fulfill its missions also depends on the existence of a 
functioning and strong Palestinian Authority, with effective security 
mechanisms that maintain law and order.''
  You know, the great irony here--the great irony--is that Prime 
Minister Netanyahu and his allies are targeting the Palestinian 
Authority which has, for over 30 years now, recognized Israel's right 
to exist and, with some American assistance, cooperates with Israel in 
providing security in parts of the West Bank. Indeed, that cooperation 
has been so close that the PA has often been seen by many Palestinians 
as collaborating with Israel to maintain the occupation on the West 
Bank.
  Look, there is no doubt that the Palestinian Authority has many 
shortcomings and needs to implement significant reforms to improve 
governance, to root out cronyism, and to end the current prisoner 
payment system.
  During my visit, I met with the newly appointed Palestinian Prime 
Minister and the newly appointed Minister of Justice, as well as the 
reappointed Ministry of Interior. And under pressure from the United 
States and many of their Arab neighbors, they have started to make some 
modest but important steps, including progress on a plan to end the 
current prisoner payment system.
  Still, as you know, the PA continues to suffer from very low levels 
of public support. It has not held a presidential or national 
legislative election since 2006, and it has been unable to demonstrate 
real progress on Palestinian aspirations to end the occupation of the 
West Bank.
  But importantly--importantly--through all this, it has never 
abandoned its recognition of Israel's right to exist. And in stark 
contrast to Hamas, the PA seeks to accomplish its goals through 
nonviolent means. That is why the United States has said that the PA, 
with a lot of support from the United States, the EU, and the Arab 
States, should form the nucleus of the governance structure in Gaza 
when the war ends there.
  But Prime Minister Netanyahu has systematically undermined the 
Palestinian Authority, despite its longtime recognition of Israel's 
right to exist. And he took, at the same time, steps prior to October 7 
that had the effect of helping Hamas sustain control in Gaza, despite 
the fact that Hamas, of course, has been dedicated to the destruction 
of Israel.
  This has been well-documented. We don't have to go over this again on 
the Senate floor. But Prime Minister Netanyahu told his fellow Likud 
Party members years ago that he facilitated Qatar's payments of 
financial support to Hamas in order to foil a two-state solution.
  According to Haaretz, he said:

       Anyone who wants to prevent the creation of a Palestinian 
     state needs to support strengthening Hamas. This is part of 
     our strategy, to divide the Palestinians between those in 
     Gaza and those in Judea and Samaria.


[[Page S5168]]


  He believed that so long as Hamas was a going concern, he could slow 
momentum toward a two-state solution.
  Yet now Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to claim that implementing a 
plan for a two-state solution with the Palestinian Authority would be a 
``reward'' or ``gift'' for Hamas.

  This is a con game. Everybody knows that Hamas's aim has been to 
destroy Israel in order to establish an Islamic State in its place. 
Indeed, the split between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority has been 
over the PA's recognition of Israel's right to exist and its commitment 
to peaceful means to achieve a two-state solution versus Hamas's goal 
of one state and its use of violence to pursue those goals.
  So Prime Minister Netanyahu has it exactly backward. A real two-state 
solution, especially coupled with a normalization agreement with Saudi 
Arabia, as President Biden has proposed, would be a strategic defeat 
for Hamas; it would be a victory for Israel's long-term security; and 
it would be an important signal to the overwhelming majority of 
Palestinians who have nothing to do with Hamas and who have pursued a 
peaceful but still unfulfilled path toward self-determination.
  It is true that a two-state solution would not only be a defeat for 
Hamas, it would also be a defeat for Ben Gvir, Smotrich, and 
Netanyahu--all of those who pursue maximalist one-state positions. It 
would be a defeat for all those who seek to claim all the land between 
the river and the sea for themselves.
  Let's be clear: Prime Minister Netanyahu may use different language 
and tactics, but he has shown that his goal is no different than the 
extremist allies he brought into his coalition. In fact, he recently 
boasted about his strong opposition to former Prime Minister Rabin's 
decision to enter into the Oslo Accords, which were designed to lead to 
a two-state solution.
  We should remember that Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated by a 
rightwing Israeli who saw peace as a threat because he wanted Israel to 
have all of the land and opposed Rabin's decision.
  Given Prime Minister Netanyahu's misplaced belief that he was 
successfully managing Hamas prior to October 7, it is no wonder he 
doesn't want to meet face-to-face with the Israeli families who lost 
loved ones, whom I spoke to on Friday. Instead, he wants to come to the 
United States to convince Israelis that the United States stands with 
him personally and supports his words and actions. He repeatedly tells 
his fellow Israelis that he knows best how to handle America in an 
attempt to boost his very low popularity ratings in Israel.
  But the reality is that the actions, words, and policies of Prime 
Minister Netanyahu and his extremist partners have weakened the U.S.-
Israel relationship, and we in the U.S. Congress should not be 
complicit in his ongoing political deception.
  Let me just say that much of Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech here 
will likely focus on the very real dangers posed by Iran and its 
proxies to Israel and others in the region.
  President Biden and the United States understand full well Iran's 
malevolent role in the region. We have been working for years to 
contain Iranian proxy militias in Iraq.
  President Biden deployed our naval vessels to secure shipping lanes 
in the Red Sea as the Houthis have launched attacks since the start of 
the war in Gaza.
  President Biden has deployed aircraft carriers in the early days of 
the war to deter escalation by Hezbollah. The Biden administration is, 
right now, working around the clock to get Hezbollah to redeploy its 
forces north of the Litani River.
  And the United States, along with our partners in the region, 
provided Israel with substantial help in intercepting Iranian missiles 
and drones on April 13.
  We understand the existential threat that Iran poses to Israel. 
President Biden has made clear--and I agree--that Iran must not be 
allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
  Anyone who understands the region also understands that certain 
groups, like the Houthis and Hamas, while they welcome the support they 
receive from Iran--or anyone else for that matter--they are not the 
puppets of Iran. They are not controlled by Iran. That is the view of 
U.S. intelligence and other officials. They are indigenous movements 
that Iran has supported with weapons because of their mutual antagonism 
toward Israel. But those two groups would be carrying out attacks with 
or without Iranian encouragement. They benefit from Iran's supply of 
weapons.
  We also understand that Iran supports these groups by 
opportunistically exploiting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But to 
say that Iran exploits those wounds is not to say they are not real. 
One way to help bind those wounds, rather than allowing Iran to 
exacerbate them, is to work with those who have long recognized 
Israel's right to exist and seek peaceful coexistence, like the 
Palestinian Authority, and to address the legitimate aspirations of the 
Palestinian people to self-determination.
  That is why President Biden and Egypt and Jordan and Saudi Arabia and 
the UAE and others in the Arab world work to establish a framework that 
ensures the long-term security of Israel by also addressing those 
aspirations.
  During my recent visit to Saudi Arabia, I met with Crown Prince 
Muhammad bin Salman and senior members of his government. They are 
interested in reaching a bilateral agreement with the United States on 
security and other measures.
  Once the war in Gaza ends, they are also willing to support 
reconstruction efforts and work toward advancing a normalization 
agreement with Israel, so long as Israel is willing to implement an 
irreversible plan to achieve a two-state solution. That would 
significantly enhance security for Israel in the region.
  Unfortunately, Prime Minister Netanyahu has consistently rejected 
that approach in favor of the rightwing extremists in his coalition who 
want Israel to have all the land from the river to the sea.
  We need leaders who are willing to make tough decisions for peace and 
security, not those who always put their own political ambitions first. 
As former Israeli Prime Minister Barak has stated, instead of urging 
Israelis to overcome their fears, Netanyahu is exploiting them, playing 
into the hands of his extreme rightwing allies. As Majority Leader 
Schumer has said on this Senate floor, there are many obstacles to 
peace in the Middle East. One of them is Mr. Netanyahu.
  In my recent visit to Israel, I met with many Israelis who believe 
that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his dangerous, extremist partners are 
leading Israel down a very dangerous path, one that is weakening the 
bonds between the United States and the Government of Israel and will 
lead to Israel's further isolation. I agree with their assessment.
  I will not be party to a spectacle that will inevitably be used to 
create the illusion that Prime Minister Netanyahu is the protector of 
the U.S.-Israel relationship. He is not. As many hostages' families 
have said, it would be better for him to stay at home and prioritize 
the release of their loved ones.
  Those who really care about the relationship will work to ensure that 
it is based on our shared values, and, as the points I made today 
reveal, that is not happening right now. The Prime Minister and his 
extremist partners are undermining those shared values.
  So, Mr. President, while I will continue to fight for a strong U.S.-
Israel relationship based on shared values, I will not attend the joint 
session with Prime Minister Netanyahu tomorrow.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa.