On September 17, 2024, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) released a joint statement with 28 of her Republican colleagues, led by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), condemning a resolution targeting Israel proposed by the Palestinian Mission to the United Nations ahead of the UN General Assembly. The resolution could be voted on as early as this week.
“This proposal introduced by the Palestinian delegation, ahead of the United Nations’ General Assembly, is an absolute disgrace that rewards terrorism. It is a clear insult to the Jewish people and anyone who understands history,” the senators stated.
“As we approach the one-year anniversary of the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas and affiliated Palestinian terrorist groups against innocent Israeli civilians, which involved murder, mutilation, and sexual violence, the international community must unequivocally unite against this evil, one-sided effort to delegitimize Israel. Instead of proposing biased and counter-productive initiatives, which will do nothing to advance a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the international community must focus its energy and resources on ensuring Hamas and other terrorist groups are completely destroyed. We must remain firm to ensure every single hostage held by these terrorists is safely returned to their loved ones,” they continued.
Senator Capito has been active in efforts to hold the UN accountable following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. She joined a December 2023 letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after the UN’s failure to condemn and investigate Hamas’s acts of sexual violence on October 7.
In addition to Senators Capito and Rubio, other signatories include U.S. Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Kennedy (R-La.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Budd (R-N.C), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Cindy Hyde-Smith(R-Miss.), Mike Braun(R-Ind.). John Thune(R-S.D.). Roger Wicker(R-Miss.). John Cornyn(R-Texas). Katie Boyd Britt(R-Ala.).
