Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the US should “more fully leverage” its relationship with Israel to reduce civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip.
Pelosi said the situation in Gaza was “intolerable” but reiterated that the United States supports Israel and the Jewish state's right to defend itself, calling the country “our security partner, our values partner and more.”
“The debate here is about where do we draw the line,” Pelosi said while appearing at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Saturday, when asked whether congressional Democrats would continue to support U.S. arms sales to Israel.
“We have always said we will support Israel in defending itself against what people may think are some of these weapons being used in attacks,” she added. “It's a difficult task. It's not as easy as it looks, but I think we can use our influence with Israel more fully to ensure that collateral damage to civilians is not our responsibility.”
Israel's 11-month war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas began on October 7. Hamas militants have killed more than 1,100 Israelis in southern Israel and taken about 250 hostage. Israeli military attacks in response have so far killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, a figure that does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.
The White House has been pressuring Israel for months to do more to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that an agreement on a ceasefire and hostage release was “not close” and that Hamas was not negotiating in good faith.
“We do not need new proposals. What is needed now is to put pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government to abide by the terms of the agreement,” Hamas said in a statement. “Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying to use the negotiations to prolong his aggression against our people. We warn you not to fall into his traps and tricks.”
Pelosi called Hamas a terrorist organization. She said October 7 was a “horrific day” and that “the consequences have been horrific.”
“So instead of ignoring how we got to this situation, I'm saying there must be a better way to deal with this than by killing tens of thousands of Palestinians,” she said.
In late April, she said Netanyahu was an “obstacle” to a two-state solution and should step down.
“So we have to move towards a two-state solution – and I use the word solution very positively – but there has to be a state solution where Israelis and Palestinians have the security to create their own state, to defend themselves, to achieve their own fulfilment and to decide for themselves what they want to be as a nation,” she said on Saturday.
“Until we find a solution, we're still going to have those challenges, and that's really heartbreaking.”
