As annexation looms, several leading Republican lawmakers remain silent

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., flanked by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., left, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right,

Eric Cortellessa writes in times of Israel, “As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to move ahead with plans to begin annexing parts of the West Bank, possibly as soon as Wednesday, several leading GOP lawmakers are staying silent on the step that Democrats have rallied against and some Republicans have embraced. While the Democratic Party has been increasingly unified in recent weeks in voicing opposition to the move, GOP lawmakers have taken a different approach: Either they have come out in favor of annexation— or have stayed silent on it.”

“Last week, a majority of Republican House members sent a letter to Netanyahu saying they stood behind his proposal to annex West Bank territory. “Israel has the right to make sovereign decisions independent of outside pressure,” the legislators wrote, offering “support for you as you make such decisions in your capacity as Israel’s democratically-elected prime minister.”

“At the same time, a number of Republican leaders and high-profile GOP senators have not yet taken a public stance. The offices of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Utah Senator Mitt Romney and Idaho Senator James Risch, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, all declined requests from The Times of Israel to weigh in on Netanyahu’s annexation plans.” (more…)