Over 90 Democrats warn Biden that Netanyahu’s actions undermine US-Israel relationship

Washington (QNN)- Over 90 Democratic lawmakers on Thursday warned U.S. President Joe Biden that Israel’s new far-right government current and potential actions are undermining the US-Israel relationship.

The letter, sent to the president on Thursday and spearheaded by Reps. Rosa DeLauro, Jan Schakowsky and Jim McGovern – is reportedly the most significant effort aimed at capturing Biden’s attention on the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul, the escalating violence in the occupied West Bank and the looming threat of annexation.

“We urge you to use all diplomatic tools available to prevent Israel’s far-right government from further damaging the nation’s democratic institutions and undermining the potential for two states for two peoples,” the Democrats wrote in the letter published by the liberal pro-Israel group J Street.

Currently, Israel’s highest court can disqualify government legislation if it contradicts Israel’s 13 basic laws, particularly the Human Dignity and Liberty Basic Law. Israel’s basic laws are intended to be part of the future constitution, which does not exist yet.

However, a new plan proposed by the Netanyahu-led coalition would expand the government’s power to appoint judges and impede the Supreme Court’s power to restrain parliament.

Under a proposed new law, a simple majority of 61 lawmakers could overturn a ruling by the Supreme Court on Israel’s basic laws.

If the plan is fully implemented, ‘Israel’ will likely cease to have an independent judiciary, and change from a government that must justify its actions to a regime that can act arbitrarily, Israeli prosecutors and state attorneys have warned.

Last week, an Israeli parliament committee approved the restriction of the Supreme Court’s power to override laws, a significant part of the overhaul. The bills will now go through three readings at the Knesset before a final vote.

The Democrats warned that the proposed changes would “jeopardize Israeli democracy, which in turn would undermine the very foundation of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

They also noted that removing the judiciary’s check on the coalition would “empower far-right lawmakers seeking to entrench settlement of the West Bank and advance a pro-annexation agenda, undermining the prospects for a two-state solution and threatening Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state.”

The lawmakers expressed deep alarm about the “rapidly deteriorating” situation in the West Bank and the potential for “sustained violence.” They detailed the Palestinian Authority’s weakened condition, which has led to increasingly frequent Israeli military raids in Palestinian cities.

They noted that over 60 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank this year, inclusive of settler attacks – “a pace that is on track to surpass last year’s record-breaking casualties.”

“With the Knesset on the cusp of stripping the judiciary’s check over the far-right government, we urge you to make clear that the U.S. will firmly oppose any moves toward annexation that the Israeli government may pursue as a result,” they concluded.