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A group of 29 Democratic senators is calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a settlement construction project in the occupied West Bank that they warn would cut the Palestinian territory in two, according to a statement released Friday.
The lawmakers, led by Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, took aim at Israel's decision to open bidding for construction in the E1 area east of Jerusalem, The Hill reported. The senators argued the project would undermine the possibility of a future Palestinian state existing alongside Israel.
"The United States must remain committed to a two-state solution that delivers lasting peace and security for both the Jewish, democratic State of Israel and for a future Palestinian state," the senators wrote. "Construction in E1 would take us further away from that goal."
The plan calls for seven residential compounds comprising 1,234 housing units. Israel's Construction and Housing Ministry opened bidding for the project on Aug. 18, setting a deadline of Oct. 19 for submissions.
The E1 area sits between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim. Development there has been proposed and shelved multiple times over the past two decades in the face of sustained objections from Palestinian officials, Arab governments and Western allies, who have long warned it would sever East Jerusalem from the southern and northern West Bank.
In their statement, the senators said the project could isolate East Jerusalem from Palestinian population hubs including Bethlehem and Ramallah, further fragmenting the territory Palestinians envision as the core of a future state.
"For decades, Republican and Democratic administrations have recognized that development in E1 would seriously jeopardize the prospects for a Palestinian state," the lawmakers wrote. "That concern remains just as urgent today."
The statement pointed to a separate letter, signed by 44 Democratic senators and independent Sen. Angus King, urging action over reported violence committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank.
"We urge the Israeli government to immediately rescind these tenders, halt settlement expansion in the West Bank, and take urgent action to rein in settler violence," the Democrats wrote.
The senators added that continuing down the current path could damage Israel's standing in the international community.
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