J Street welcomes the introduction of an urgent new Senate resolution which affirms that any viable American peace plan must have a two-state solution at its core and condemns any move by the Israeli government toward unilateral annexation of the West Bank. This resolution could not be more timely, given that the first stage of the Trump administration’s long-anticipated initiative related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – an economic workshop in Bahrain – is now set to take place at the end of June.

“This resolution is an important warning to the Trump administration against any attempts to encourage annexation or undercut the ultimate prospects for a two-state solution,” said J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami. “It’s vital that the Senate recommit to long-held, bipartisan principles — and reject a path that leads Israel down a path towards permanent occupation and endless conflict.”

The resolution, introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) joined by Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tom Udall (D-NM), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), states that “United States efforts to promote peace between the Israelis and Palestinians should explicitly endorse a two-state solution as the goal of any process to resolve the conflict’s core issues.”

It makes clear that “Unilateral annexation of portions of the West Bank would jeopardize prospects for a two state solution, harm Israel’s relationship with its Arab neighbors, threaten Israel’s Jewish and democratic identity, and undermine Israel’s security.”

A similar resolution was introduced earlier this month in the House of Representatives and has already garnered 112 cosponsors. In late May, a letter signed by nearly 300 high-ranking generals from the Israeli defense forces and security services warned Prime Minister Netanyahu that annexation would “harm Israel’s economy, its regional and international standing, and especially its security.”