The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the White House and Congress to take immediate steps to block Israel’s illegal annexation of the occupied West Bank, warning that empty pledges from President Trump will not halt Israel’s “maximum land, minimum population” drive to seize Palestinian land and erase its Arab Muslim and Christian population.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, has shown open disregard for President Trump’s recent pledge to block annexation. While Trump insists he “will not allow” Israel to annex the West Bank, Netanyahu is proceeding as if Washington’s words carry no weight. The disconnect between American assurances and Israeli actions risks making a fool of the United States in the eyes of the world.
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said:
“The U.S. needs a backbone and so does President Trump’s promise to stop Israel’s genocidal annexation of the West Bank. Annexation is not a threat on the horizon; it is already happening in open defiance of Trump’s pledge to the American people and to Arab allies. Netanyahu and his government are treating U.S. leadership with absolute contempt while demanding some six billion dollars in new American weapons. Empty words only project weakness. If President Trump truly wants to show strength, he must cut off arms sales to Israel, hold Netanyahu accountable, and take concrete action to end annexation, displacement, and ethnic cleansing once and for all.”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich unveiled a “maximum land, minimum population” plan to annex more than 80 percent of the West Bank, reducing Palestinian life to a handful of disconnected urban ghettos while openly calling for the ethnic cleansing of millions.
On the ground in the West Bank, Israeli settlers and soldiers have already accelerated daily raids, killing over 1,000 Palestinians in the past two years, and land seizures, proving that annexation is not a future threat – it has already begun. Just this week, Israeli forces shot and killed 19-year-old Ahmed Jihad Barahmeh during a raid near Jenin, the second Palestinian killed in the West Bank in two days, underscoring the lethal reality of Israel’s de facto annexation campaign.
At the same time, President Trump is urging Congress to approve a nearly $6 billion arms deal to resupply Israel, even as its government openly undermines American credibility. Providing more bombs and weapons without conditions while Israel flouts U.S. policy signals weakness, not strength.
TAKE ACTION: Call on Congress to Reject $6 Billion Arms Sale to Fuel Israel’s Gaza Genocide
CAIR is urging members of Congress to:
- Reject Trump’s proposed $6 billion arms package until Israel halts all annexation activity and settlement expansion.
- Publicly condemn Israel’s “maximum land, minimum population” annexation plan as a violation of international law and an assault on Palestinian Christians and Muslims.
- Introduce binding legislation to recognize the state of Palestine, block U.S. complicity in annexation, and to condition all military aid to Israel on respect for human rights.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | TikTok | Website | YouTube
Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.
You are receiving this email due to your interest selection from commercial media databases. If you would like to join CAIR’s media list, please sign up here: https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters — For more information, email: info@cair.com, CC ihooper@cair.com
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com