Netanyahu Meets With President Trump, Senators Despite Arrest Warrants For War Crimes | Palestine Policy Roundup 07.14.25
Welcome to the Palestine Policy Roundup, a weekly publication of the IMEU Policy Project.
👀 ICYMI: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT
Rep. Delia Ramirez in response to an Israeli strike on children who were waiting for food supplements: “The unaccountable duo-Netanyahu and Trump-continue to utilize US-supplied bombs to murder innocent children in Gaza. Killing starving children waiting for food is an atrocity. Congress must assert its authority and end our complicity in these horrors. I urge my colleagues to join me by cosponsoring the Block The Bombs Act NOW. Not one more bomb, not one more dollar, not one more excuse.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar: “This is Benjamin Netanyahu’s third visit to DC this year. War criminals should not be welcomed by any president or Congress. He should be held accountable for his crimes, not platformed. Beyond shameful.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders: “As President Trump & Congress roll out the red carpet for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, let’s remember that Netanyahu has been indicted as a war criminal by the International Criminal Court for overseeing the systematic killing and starvation of civilians in Gaza.”
Sen. Jeff Merkley: “Horrifying to see starving babies in Gaza. The malnutrition and deaths are 100% preventable. Every second the U.S. fails to demand a massive influx of humanitarian aid, we are complicit in this suffering.”
DC DEVELOPMENTS
🔗 TRUMP AND NETANYAHU DOUBLE DOWN ON ETHNIC CLEANSING OF PALESTINIANS DURING WHITE HOUSE VISIT
President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu–who is wanted by the International Criminal Court in connection to his alleged responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza during Israel’s genocide there–once again reaffirmed their plans for the potential ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza during the latter’s visit to the White House last Monday.
The pair added that Israel and the US are continuing to search for another country that will take the Palestinians it deports from Gaza, again making clear that the intention of Trump’s proposal for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza–which Netanyahu and many other Israeli ministers have stated as a goal of Israel’s genocide–is to forcibly remove them from their homeland.
Despite promises from both leaders, no breakthrough on a ceasefire deal to temporarily halt or end Israel’s genocide in Gaza was announced during the visit. According to reporting by Drop Site News, Israel is still refusing to commit to an end to its genocide in Gaza, a complete withdrawal of its military from the area, and to relinquish control of humanitarian aid to the UN.
Later in the week, Netanyahu also met with a bipartisan group of Senators including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Steve Daines (R-MT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Thune (R-SD), Jim Risch (R-ID), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dave McCormick (R-PA), and Jon Husted (R-OH).
Netanyahu, who is internationally wanted over charges of using starvation as a weapon of war among others, should not have been welcomed to the US. This is now the third time that Netanyahu has visited the White House during the Trump administration, and is also the third time he has visited the US since warrants for his arrest were issued by the ICC. Instead of upholding international law, President Trump instead chose to deepen US complicity in the genocide and potential ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza.
IN THE NEWS
✅ IMEU POLICY PROJECT LAUNCHES FIRST SCORECARD FOR THE 119TH CONGRESS
Today, IMEU Policy Project is releasing our first scorecard for the 119th Congress. Members of the House and the Senate were scored on select positive actions they have taken for Palestinian rights so far during the congressional session (as of July 1), including signing on to letters, sponsorship of legislation, and key votes.
We want to thank Members of Congress who are sending the message of opposition to deepening US complicity in Israel’s genocide and potential ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza and are supporting Palestinian rights. As President Trump continues to provide weapons and support for Israel’s violations of international law, it’s more crucial than ever that Members of Congress send a strong message of opposition to deepening US complicity.
PALESTINE/ISRAEL DEVELOPMENTS
⚠️ ISRAEL PLANS TO FORCE PALESTINIANS INTO GHETTO BUILT ON ASHES OF RAFAH
The White House meeting came on the heels of Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s announcement that Israel intends to concentrate Palestinians in Gaza in a ghetto built on the ashes of Rafah, which the Israeli military destroyed following Israel’s unilateral breaking of the ceasefire earlier this year. Reportedly, Benjamin Netanyahu supports this plan.
This ghetto would initially involve the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have sought refuge in the so-called humanitarian zone of Al-Mawasi, and once they enter they would not be allowed to leave. Eventually, all Palestinians would be forced into this camp. They would also be subject to screening before they enter the area, the nature of which has not been disclosed.
Katz promised that the camp will be used to implement Trump’s ethnic cleansing proposal, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, and said that construction of the camp could begin during a 60-day ceasefire.
While Katz did not mention what might happen to Palestinians who refuse to move, Israel’s record of indiscriminately killing Palestinians in areas considered “no-go” zones suggests that the Israeli military may kill them or push them into the camp.
To be clear: forcing Palestinians into this camp would be a violation of international law. Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard called the announcement “...an operational plan for a crime against humanity.” The forced displacement and deportation of Palestinians from Gaza would also be a war crime.
This is the next step in Israel’s long-standing and well-documented plans for the potential ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza. By concentrating Palestinians to the tip of the area, Israel could be preparing to push all remaining Palestinians into Egypt or another country. Israel’s unilateral breaking of the ceasefire, large-scale invasion of Gaza, and weaponization of food through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation are all contributing to this potential war crime.
With the support of the Trump administration, Israel is seeking to advance its well-documented and long-standing plans for the potential forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza through this plan. Members of Congress must speak out against the forced displacement of Palestinians and exercise their oversight authority over weapons transfers to stop US complicity in this potential violation of international law.
🚨 US CITIZEN KILLED BY ISRAELI SETTLERS AS ATTACKS ON PALESTINIANS IN THE WEST BANK ESCALATE
Last Friday, Israeli settlers killed Sayfollah Musallet, a US citizen who was visiting his family in the town of Al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya in the West Bank. The settlers beat him until he was unconscious, and then prevented an ambulance and paramedics from reaching him for three hours. Sayfollah, who also went by Saif, died before reaching the hospital–making it more likely that this delay caused by the settlers prevented him from receiving possibly life-saving medical care.
Musallet’s family has called for the US to launch an independent probe into his killing and to hold the settlers responsible for killing him accountable.
Musallet was visiting his family in the town when Israeli settlers attacked. According to his family’s statement, he was protecting his family’s land from being stolen by the settlers before he was beaten.
Saif is now the second US citizen killed in the West Bank this year, after Israeli soldiers killed 14-year-old Amer Rabee in April. Saif is the first American to be killed by Israeli settlers, but is the sixth American to be killed by Israeli violence in Palestine since Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza began. All other Americans were killed by the Israeli military. So far, the US has not launched any independent probe into any of the killings.
The killing of Musallet comes amid increased attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers–according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there were 27 settler attacks that resulted in casualties or property damage in just the first week of July.
Between January 2024 and May 2025, OCHA recorded thousands of settler attacks on Palestinians. Also last week, residents and church leaders in the town of Taybeh raised alarm over arson, attacks, and intimidation by Israeli settlers against the West Bank town.
While its involvement in this attack and in the killing of Saif is not yet clear, the Israeli military consistently accompanies settlers who attack Palestinians and stands by during the attacks. Earlier this year, Hamdan Ballal, a co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was detained by the Israeli military after settlers attacked and injured him during their assault on Masafer Yatta.
Members of Congress should uplift the demand for an independent investigation made by Saif’s family and continue to demand accountability for his killing and those of other Americans killed by Israel’s violence.
Photo: The White House / Joyce N. Boghosian, public domain, sourced from Wikimedia Commons: Trump Netanyahu Dinner (archived copy available via the Wayback Machine).