Rep. Smith calls for the U.S. to leverage certain arms sales to Israel
"Israel should implement a ceasefire in Gaza and massively increase the flow of humanitarian aid. They must also stop the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and take serious steps to reduce the violence there. I urge President Trump to directly appeal to Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government to take these steps. If Israel does not take these steps, I believe it is time for the United States government to stop the sale of some offensive weapons systems to Israel as leverage to pressure Israel into taking these actions.
“I support Israel and recognize both the threats they face and the reality that the actions of Hamas and their supporters have driven this conflict. But, right now, it is impossible to see how further military action in Gaza could degrade Hamas' capabilities to any appreciable degree further than what has already occurred. Yes, the hostages must be returned. It is outrageous that Hamas took the hostages and has continued to hold them. But six months of war since the end of the last ceasefire has done nothing to bring the hostages home.
“I have been opposed to blocking weapons sales to Israel as leverage in the past, but the situation in the Middle East has changed dramatically in recent months. Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran have all been weakened to the point where they pose a substantially reduced threat to Israel. Assad, a crucial ally for all three, has been removed from power in Syria. These are very positive developments that might not have happened if the US had reduced its support to Israel prior to them occurring. But these developments also mean that Israel faces little if any risk to its security if the US blocks the sale of some weapons now.
"The other risk of any action that attempts to pressure Israel into ending the war is that such action could simply embolden Hamas to keep fighting. I believe this has happened throughout the war as various international groups have consistently failed to hold Hamas accountable for starting the war and for their actions during it, instead placing all the blame on Israel and empowering Hamas to keep fighting and holding the hostages. I do not agree with that approach. But the war is now in a very different place. It appears near certain that Hamas will not simply walk away in response to military force from the IDF. It is time to pressure Hamas by working with alternative Palestinian leadership to rebuild Gaza and give the Palestinian people some hope for their future. I am not naïve that this approach is somehow guaranteed to work, but simply continuing the war has clearly failed to completely eliminate Hamas or gain the return of the hostages. It is time to try something else.
"And the situation in Gaza is at a crisis point. Clearly, the world should not blindly trust how Hamas reports that situation, but the scale of the humanitarian crisis cannot be denied. I also believe that if Israel does not end the war in Gaza, they run the risk of being ostracized globally in a way that is a far greater threat to the long-term security of Israel than anything their adversaries are now capable of doing.
"I do remain concerned that so many people advocating for the US to stop supporting Israel believe that Israel does not have the right to exist as a country. Opposing the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza to stop the war and end the suffering of the Palestinian people is very different from opposing the Israeli government out of a desire to wipe it off the map. Faced with that kind of existential threat, Israel will be far less likely to seek peace in the short term.
"This broader concern, however, does not change the facts that exist now. Nothing more can be realistically accomplished by Israel continuing the war in Gaza, and the humanitarian crisis there must be addressed."
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