(Seattle, WA – 7/15/2025) – The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) today condemned the decision by more than a dozen senators, including Washington Senator Maria Cantwell, to meet with wanted war criminal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his recent trip to Washington, D.C.
SEE:
- Bipartisan Group of Senators Meets With Netanyahu Despite ICC Arrest Warrant
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with congressional leaders
On Wednesday, July 9, the bipartisan group met with Netanyahu to “discuss bringing American hostages home from Gaza and building off of [President Donald Trump’s] leadership to restore peace and security in the region,” according to South Dakota Senator John Thune. During the trip, Netanyahu also reportedly met with Trump to discuss a proposal for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza.
The meeting comes as Netanyahu’s government escalates efforts to forcibly remove all Palestinians from Gaza, either through mass killing or displacement. Just last week, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that he had instructed the military to prepare plans to confine the entire population of Gaza in a restricted zone from which they would not be permitted to leave—a chilling proposal that has drawn widespread condemnation for its resemblance to a concentration camp.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Neither Israel nor the U.S. is a signatory to the ICC, and both have denounced the issuance of the warrants.
In a statement, Executive Director Imraan Siddiqi said:
“Benjamin Netanyahu is unequivocally a war criminal, who is responsible for wiping out entire generations in Gaza. There are many families in Washington state who have lost scores, if not hundreds, of relatives during the current genocide, which is nearing two years. Imagine their dismay, in seeing their Senator standing with the man responsible for wiping out their families. We wholeheartedly condemn any and all elected officials giving this man any legitimacy.”
CAIR-WA’s staff met with Senator Cantwell and her staff on April 29, 2025, and urged her to take decisive action against the genocide in Gaza. CAIR-WA staff reported that the Senator spoke at length about her desires for a government that represents the Palestinian people and helping the region move forward through trade agreements.
In a statement, Community Legal Advocate Sabrene Odeh spoke about seeing the photo of Senator Cantwell with Netanyahu after meeting with her months earlier:
“I have been in some of the most dehumanizing meetings in which we as Palestinians have to explain to our elected officials why our families back home, our cousins, mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles, why they deserve to live. Over the last two years, I personally have been in two meetings with Senator Maria Cantwell to discuss the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The first meeting was exceptionally traumatizing because it seemed that nothing any of the dozen Palestinians in the room were saying was enough. A year later I met with her again and I was honestly surprised to hear that her stance had shifted drastically. Although our 2025 meeting was a short one, I felt that maybe this would be the start of a longer conversation with Senator Cantwell standing on the right side of justice.
“There is not a word I can find to describe the level of absolute disappointment I felt when I saw the Senator standing in the photo with Netanyahu. Only two months prior it seemed that she understood the gravity of the human rights violations and the ongoing horrific genocide perpetrated by Israel under the wanted war criminal Netanyahu.
“I don’t think Senator Cantwell has to continue to tell us that she is not interested in representing her constituents, standing up for basic human rights, or even that she won’t work with criminals actively engaging in ethnic cleansing. She has now shown us everything we need to know about her priorities, and they do not align with those held by people of conscience in Washington.”
Since Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza has killed at least 57,000 Palestinian civilians, a majority of whom are women and children. Approximately 1.5 million people have been forcibly displaced and are facing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis as Israel continues to cut off food, water, electricity, and medicine to Gaza.