A group of Democrat lawmakers are threatening to attach conditions to aid the U.S. provides to Israel if a plan to annex parts of the West Bank moves ahead, Politico reports.
The effort to tack on conditions is being led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and is backed by about a dozen Democrats.
“Should the Israeli government continue down this path, we will work to ensure non-recognition of annexed territories as well as pursue legislation that conditions the $3.8 billion in U.S. military funding to Israel to ensure that U.S. taxpayers are not supporting annexation in any way,” Ocasio-Cortez’s letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo states. “We will include human rights conditions and the withholding of funds for the offshore procurement of Israeli weapons equal to or exceeding the amount the Israeli government spends annually to fund settlements, as well as the policies and practices that sustain and enable them.”
The letter also states that annexation “would actively harm prospects for a future in which all Israelis and Palestinians can live with full equality, human rights and dignity, and would lay the groundwork for Israel becoming an apartheid state, as your predecessor John Kerry warned in 2014.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s office told Politico that groups such as IfNotNow, Arab American Institute, Jewish Voice for Peace Action and Demand Progress have voiced support for the letter.
In addition to AOC, the letter was co-signed by Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Betty McCollum and Pramila Jayapal. Other backers include Reps. Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Raul Grijalva, André Carson, Nydia Velázquez, Bobby Rush, Jesús “Chuy” Garcia, and Danny Davis, as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee slammed the letter on Twitter.
AIPAC tweeted Monday night that it “opposes the letter being circulated by [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez] — co-signed by [Reps. Pramila Jayapal], [Rashida Tlaib] & [Betty McCollum] — which explicitly threatens the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that would damage American interests, risk the security of Israel & make a two-state solution less likely.”
AIPAC also tweeted that Ocasio-Cortez’s letter “rejects President Obama’s security assistance commitment to Israel” and that “Congress must continue to fully implement the Obama- @JoeBiden” pledge.
Joe Biden doesn’t support placing conditions on aid to Israel, according to Politico.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.