Israeli annexation will 'undermine US national security interests'- Pelosi
'It undermines our national security interests and decades of bipartisan policy. We always want it to be bipartisan'
By OMRI NAHMIASU.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 17, 2019. (photo credit: REUTERS/ERIN SCOTT)
WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she is “concerned” about a possible Israeli move to annex parts of the West Bank.“Unilateral annexation puts the future at risk and undermines US national security interests,” she said in a webinar hosted by the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) on Thursday. “It undermines our national security interests and decades of bipartisan policy. We always want it to be bipartisan.”The Speaker told participants that Democrats are taking “a great pride” in former president Barack Obama’s memorandum of understanding, which provides Israel with $38 billion worth of security assistance over a decade. “That’s our commitment. And we continue to have that,” she said. “It was signed in 2016 to help Israel defend itself in a variety of ways. And we stand committed to that, but we’re very concerned about what we see happening in terms of annexation.”“I’m not a big fan of the Palestinian leadership in terms of their capability to be good negotiating partners,” she added. “I wish they could be better. But I think that everybody can be doing better in terms of that.” She also sent a barb to the Trump administration’s peace plan, saying that it has “nothing in common with the word peace or plan.”
