Dozens of Democratic members of the US Congress have sent a letter to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on them to recognise a Palestinian state.
The letter, led by California Representative Ro Khanna, had 46 signatures by the time of reporting, according to the Guardian on Thursday.
Khanna told the British paper that he had expected the number of signatures to surpass 50 by Friday, when the letter was due to be handed to Trump and Rubio.
It comes after several Western countries, among them US allies Britain, France, Australia, and Canada, officially recognised Palestine as a state.
"Just as the lives of Palestinians must be immediately protected, so too must their rights as a people and nation urgently be acknowledged and upheld," the letter said.
"We encourage the governments of other countries that have yet to recognise Palestinian statehood, including the United States, to do so as well."
The letter urges the adoption of a framework proposed earlier this year by French President Emmanuel Macron to ensure Israel’s security.
It includes Hamas disarming and relinquishing power in Gaza, and cooperation between the Palestinian Authority, Arab countries, and Israel to ensure this is possible.
Khanna criticised those in his party who have not signed the letter.
Although he acknowledged that recognising a Palestinian state under the current administration is difficult, he hopes the letter sends a "clear statement" about the changing tide.
Out of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the US is the only one that now objects to recognising Palestinian statehood, "hurting America’s claim to be the moral leader of the world," said Khanna.
The recent recognitions of Palestine by Western countries have sparked anger from both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who have claimed this "rewarded" Hamas.
On Friday, Netanyahu said at the UN General Assembly’s 80th session in New York that recognising a Palestinian state would be "national suicide" for Israel.
He has repeatedly said there would "never" be a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli premier – wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Gaza – has refused to end the war before Hamas was "destroyed". The vast majority of people killed by Israel in Gaza are civilians.
More than 65,500 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October 2023, according to the Gaza health ministry, with most of the casualties being women and children.
The true death toll is believed to be much higher because the bodies of thousands of uncounted victims are trapped under rubble.