Senate Dems push Biden to establish two-state solution for Israel, Palestine | A group of 19 Democratic senators have sent a letter to President Biden urging his administration to establish a “bold, public framework” for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. | In the letter, led by Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the lawmakers argue that Biden needs to “reignite U.S. leadership on a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” “We call on you to publicly outline a path for the United States to recognize a nonmilitarized Palestinian state,” they wrote. The letter comes amid mounting Democratic concern over civilian casualties in the Gazan war and reports that children are suffering from starvation and malnutrition because humanitarian supplies have been blocked by the fighting. “Given the severity of the current crisis, this moment requires determined U.S. leadership that must move beyond facilitation,” the senators wrote. The letter comes a few days after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history, delivered a landmark speech on the Senate floor reaffirming his support for a two-state solution to achieve peace in Israel and Palestine. Schumer also called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an “obstacle to peace” and urged Israelis to hold new elections. The senators who signed the letter to Biden said his administration should put forth a framework for peace that includes a set of governmental and institutional reforms to the Palestinian Authority. They specifically want to reform the Palestinian Authority’s education, judicial and security systems, and combat corruption and incitement to violence in Palestinian territories. They say that any Palestinian Authority that is to govern the West Bank and Gaza must reaffirm its recognition of the state of Israel and adopt a mandate that Palestinian government ministers and senior officials accept the principle of two states and renounce Hamas and all terrorist activity. The senators also called on Biden to “lead and push the Israeli government” to limit violence against Palestinians by Jewish settlers in the West Bank. They wrote that they “have been particularly disappointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to engage on a path to a Palestinian state” and urged the administration to press the Israeli government to end home demolitions and evictions of Palestinians from their property in the West Bank. Read the full report at TheHill.com. | Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. | | | How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future: | | | JetBlue Airways says it will be eliminating routes to destinations both in the U.S. and abroad as it reevaluates its profitability after a federal judge blocked it from acquiring Spirit Airlines earlier this year. The airline said in an emailed statement that it will be leaving behind five cities, Bogotá, Colombia; Quito, Ecuador; Lima, Peru and Kansas City, Mo. It will also not resume service to Newburgh, N.Y., which has had … | | | | Former President Trump called retired Gen. Mark Milley, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a “loser” Wednesday after a hearing on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. “Mark Milley is a loser who shamed us in Afghanistan and elsewhere!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. This is far from the first time Trump has lashed out at his appointee. Milley has become a critic of Trump and referred to him as a “wannabe dictator” … | | | | North Korea on Wednesday claimed its military carried out a successful hypersonic missile test that has boosted plans to fully develop the capability in the future. The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported a successful ground test Tuesday for a multi-stage solid-fuel engine, a crucial part of an intermediate-range hypersonic missile. The test, at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground near the border with China, … | | | | Jared Kushner, who advised his father-in-law former President Trump on the Middle East, suggested last month that Gazans should be moved to an Israeli desert to allow Israel’s military to complete its military campaign against Hamas. The question of how to shield Palestinian civilians from the next stages of Israel’s war in Gaza is at the center of rising tensions with the U.S., which has warned Israel against invading … | | | | Upcoming things we’re watching on our beat: | -
U.S. Central Command head Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, U.S. Africa Command leader Gen. Michael Langley, U.S. Forces Korea, Combined Forces Command, and U.N. Command commander Gen. Paul LaCamera and Assistant Secretary of Defense for international security affairs Celeste Wallander will testify before the House Armed Services Committee on “U.S. Military Posture and National Security Challenges in the Greater Middle East and Africa,” tomorrow at 10 a.m. - Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young will testify before the House Budget Committee on “The President’s FY2025 Budget Request,” tomorrow at 10 a.m.
- Government Executive Media Group will hold an online conversation on the state of the Army with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, Army Brig. Gen. David Gardner, commanding general of the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, La., and Army Brig. Gen. Curt Taylor, commanding general of the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., tomorrow at 2 p.m.
- A House Armed Services subcommittee will hold a hearing on “FY2025 Strategic Forces Posture,” with testimony from John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy; Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command; Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command; and Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.
| | | Branch out with a different read from The Hill: | | | Jan. 6 rioter ordered to be detained after prosecutors point to ‘mind-numbingly dangerous’ conduct | John Banuelos, who was charged with firing a gun at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was ordered Tuesday by an Illinois judge to be detained because of what prosecutors called his “mind-numbingly dangerous” conduct that day. Judge Beth Jantz of the Northern District of Illinois ordered Banuelos, 39, … | | | Events in and around the defense world: | - The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on “Countering China on the World Stage: Empowering American Businesses and Denying Chinese Military Our Technology,” at 10 a.m.
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy will conduct a virtual discussion on “The Islamic State Five Years Later: Persistent Threats, U.S. Options,” with Ian McCary, State Department deputy special envoy to the global coalition to defeat ISIS, at 12 p.m.
| | | News we’ve flagged from other outlets: | | | Two key stories on The Hill right now: | | | Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill: | | | | You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow! | | | | 
