Seeing a potential path to a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians through the current war in Gaza, U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, and U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., are urging President Joe Biden to continue making the effort.
“A temporary cease-fire can open the door to replace Hamas, which is a terrorist organization, and put Israelis and Palestinians on a path to what I continue to believe and always have believed is possible — a two-state solution,” Schneider said Monday.
Schneider and Panetta sent the letter — signed by 27 of their colleagues — to Biden Friday in Washington to offer support as the president hopes for a temporary cease-fire as friction rises between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
With Biden pushing for a cease-fire before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts March 10, Schneider said it presents an opportunity to get Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 freed, and much-needed relief to the residents of Gaza.
“We have got to get the hostages back, and at the same time there is no question the Palestinians in Gaza need relief with food and other needs,” Schneider said.
Along with the temporary relief coming with a cease-fire, hostage release and aid for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, Schneider and Panetta wrote in the letter it also creates an opportunity for further progress.
“A temporary pause in fighting will not only help release the hostages and give desperately needed relief to the millions of civilians displaced by this war, it can also open a path to permanently ending the conflict,” they wrote in the letter.
Making it clear they do not believe a long-term solution can be achieved with Hamas controlling Gaza, Schneider said in the letter Israel must recognize, “the legitimacy of Palestinian aspirations for self-determination and freedom in the West Bank and Gaza.”
Once a temporary cease-fire takes place and hostages are released, Schneider and Panetta wrote it can create hope for a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians. That hope can lead to further progress. A “provisional recovery administration” must be created, they said.
“We resolutely believe that peace is possible — that a Jewish democratic state of Israel can live within safety and security alongside a viable, democratic Palestinian state,” they wrote. “The path to peace requires an agreement directly negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians, supported and reinforced with U.S. leadership.”
With friction growing between the U.S. and Netanyahu over how to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians and postwar Gaza, the letter was released as Israeli Minister Benny Gantz was preparing to leave for Washington to meet with U.S. officials.
A member of Israel’s war cabinet and part of the opposition to Israel’s governing coalition, Gantz met with Vice President Kamala Harris and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan Monday. He is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Tuesday
Polls in Israel show Gantz has the support to become prime minister if elections were held in Israel today.
Though Schneider said Monday he was not certain if Gantz will meet with members of Congress during his visit or if he will be part of meetings, Schneider said Israel is a democracy that will make its own decisions.
Of the 27 members of Congress who signed the letter, the other three members who represent parts of Lake County — U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Chicago, and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Evanston — were not among them.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
