Twenty Senate Democrats penned a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden on Oct. 4 advising Washington to insist that Jerusalem and Riyadh agree to certain preconditions prior to diplomatic normalization.
Specifically, the group—led by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism—called for Israel to halt housing construction in Judea and Samaria; dismantle “illegal outposts (including those that have been retroactively ‘legalized’)”; and “allow the natural growth of Palestinian towns, cities and population centers and the ability to travel without interference between and among contiguous Palestinian areas.”
