President Donald Trump's nominee for U.N. envoy endorsed the view, supported by far-right Israeli politicians, that Israel has a "biblical right” to the West Bank.
Elise Stefanik was asked by Sen. Chris Van Hollen at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee whether she subscribed to the views of Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and former National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir who believed that Israel has a "biblical right" to the entire West Bank.
"Yes!" Stefanik replied.
Trump’s plan for peace and stability in the region would be "very difficult to achieve ... if you continue to hold the view that you just expressed," Van Hollen shot back.
Stefanik repeatedly refused to say if Palestinians have the right to self-determination.
"I think President Trump is uniquely positioned at this very challenging moment to bring peace to the region, to eradicate terrorists of Hamas and Hezbollah, to protect Israel's national security. If you look at the failures, we've given billions of dollars, and this is just the bilateral aid to the Palestinians, and it has been abused by Hamas," Stefanik said.
Van Hollen reiterated his question. "Just was a very simple question. I just asking you, if you agree with the statement that in order to achieve long-term peace and stability in the Middle East, that we have to secure the human rights and rights of self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians. That's a yes or no!"
Stefanik said she supports human rights for all. "I think it's a disgrace that Hamas and Hezbollah have stripped human rights of the Palestinian people. And we need to ensure that we are standing up for human rights, and Israel is standing up for human rights. It is a beacon of human rights in the region," she said.
Van Hollen pressed. "I asked you in my office also about whether Palestinians have the right of self-determination. My understanding was, you said, 'Yes.' You have a different answer today."
"I believe the Palestinian people deserve so much better than the failures that they've had," Stefanik replied, sidestepping the question.
