Congressman files two-states act that restricts Israeli use of US arms

A bill affirming a two-state resolution at the pre-1967 green line and restricts Israeli use of arms was filed in Congress Thursday by Representative Andy Levin (D-Michigan).

“When I visited Israel and Palestine in 2019, I recognized hope for a two-state solution was alive among Israelis and Palestinians,” tweeted Levin after submitting his bill known as the “Two-State Solution Act.” It is one of a number of legislative drives by US politicians bent on using Congress to determine American policy with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“The Two-State Solution Act represents the change in US policy we need, to move us closer to this future,” said Levin.

The bill is not expected to pass the House and the Senate. It rescinds several significant policies from the former Trump administration, including its declaration that West Bank settlement activity is not inconsistent with international law.

According to a draft copy of the bill seen by The Jerusalem Post, it would be American policy to consider that “the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza, are occupied territories” and that territory would be “referred to as such consistently in official US policies, communications, and documents.”

Levin’s Two-State Act also undoes US policy that allows products produced over the pre-1967 lines to be marked “made in Israel.” Under the terms of his bill, such language would be forbidden and replaced with an origin marker, stating “made in West Bank” or “made in east Jerusalem.”

The act prohibits US support for any Israeli projects located over the Green Line and bans Israeli use of its military aid in those regions. It specified that such assistance can’t be used to help Israel impose sovereignty in the West Bank to prevent the execution of a two-state solution.

“The United States should ensure that military assistance it provides to Israel does not facilitate unilateral actions by the Israeli Government that impede the achievement of a two-state solution, including through unilateral efforts to annex or exercise permanent control by Israel over any part of the occupied Palestinian territories,” the act stated.

It further explained that US aid must “not be used in a manner that violates internationally recognized human rights.”