The Democratic Party strongly supports a two-state solution in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Almost all senators from Joe Biden's party signed a resolution presented by Hawaiian Sen. Brian Schatz on Wednesday.
Of the 51 Democrats who sit in the Senate, 49 supported the resolution presented by Schatz, who is Jewish. In it, some of the measures implemented by the governments of conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the main opponent of the two-state path, are condemned. With this resolution, the Democrats and the Biden administration are beginning to harshen their tone with the Israeli government, as the European Union did a week before.
Schatz's resolution calls for the promotion and creation of a Palestinian state parallel to the Jewish state. It is an option that has been considered for years and that, according to Democrats, satisfies the demands of Palestinian groups. However, its critics assure that it will only give more power and influence to Palestinian leaders, who will not be content with an enclave, although formalized as a state, but who will continue working to end the State of Israel.
"What will determine the future of Israel and Palestine is whether or not there's hope. And the two-state solution has to be that hope," Schatz said in a press conference after presenting the resolution. Schatz's text is an amendment to the foreign defense funding bill that affects Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
Manchin and Fetterman disagree
Only two Democratic senators refused to support Schatz's amendment. They were John Fetterman and Joe Manchin. Fetterman has established himself as a firm defender of the State of Israel in the Senate. Since campaigning for his seat on Capitol Hill, he assured that he would work to strengthen relations between Israel and the United States. More recently, he criticized the legal proceedings initiated by South Africa before the international justice system in The Hague against Israel.
Democrats face tough scrutiny from voters over Palestinian. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden was booed on two separate occasions when speaking about the issue. Democratic voters are more likely to have sympathies for the Palestinian cause, and in an election year, it is logical that the party will decide to made a public ideological shift toward its voter base.
