Author: Jackson Richman, Cleveland Jewish News

A group of U.S. House Republicans has penned a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in response to a letter sent to him last month by their Democratic colleagues that threatened the conditioning or even cutting off of U.S. assistance to Israel if the Jewish state goes ahead with its plans to apply sovereignty to parts of the West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria.

The GOP letter was signed by Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Andy Harris (R-Md.), Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.), Ron Wright (R-Texas), Jody Hice (R-Ga.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Randy Weber (R-Texas), Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Tedd Budd (R-N.C.), Denver Riggleman (R-Va.) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who is the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

“America has no greater friend than Israel, and Israel has no greater friend than America. For 72 years, both of our nations have fought side by side in pursuit of justice and peace,” they wrote in the July 10 letter, which was obtained by JNS. “No state in the modern history of the world has done more to prepare a path for reconciliation and peace with their neighbors than the State of Israel.

The Republican congressmen noted that Israel has done what it could to achieve peace, only for the Palestinians to respond with “open hostility and violence.”

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