Pro-Israel hawks lash out after most House Dems vote to cut aid

A recent House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on "The Next Phase of the Abraham Accords" revealed a prevailing pro-Israel consensus in Washington, despite shifting public opinion. The discussion, ostensibly about expanding normalization agreements, quickly broadened to U.S.-Israel and Israel-Palestine relations, particularly the necessity of a Palestinian state for Saudi Arabia to join the accords. Four of five Democratic members present, including Reps. Brad Sherman and Gregory Meeks, voted against an amendment to cut aid to Israel, with Rep. Bill Keating being the exception and subsequently "punished" by AIPAC. Witnesses like David Friedman, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, and Asher Fredman of the Misgav Institute, largely blamed Palestinian rejection for peace, with Friedman stating, "The United States should have no role, no role in putting its imprimatur on a corrupt Palestinian state." Daniel Shapiro, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, offered a dissenting view, identifying the ongoing war in Iran as the primary impediment to peace. The panel also debated settler violence in the West Bank, with Friedman dismissing it as infrequent despite rising Israeli military figures.