Press Releases

Pearl River, NY – 9/21/2025 … Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, issued the following statement after the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia announced their unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. 

“This reckless decision by the UK, Canada, and Australia is a betrayal of our ally Israel and a gift to Hamas and Iran’s terror proxies. Rewarding terrorism with premature recognition does nothing to advance peace and will only embolden extremists whose stated goal is the destruction of Israel. Just today, senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad admitted that this recognition is ‘one of the fruits of October 7.’ These countries are legitimizing terrorism and validating the mass murder of innocent civilians. It is shameful and dangerous,” said Congressman Lawler.

“Israel has every right to defend itself and determine its own future without foreign governments dictating terms. As I have said before, the path to peace is simple: Hamas must surrender, release all hostages, and renounce its mission to wipe Israel off the map. Anything less is appeasement and puts innocent lives at risk,” continued Congressman Lawler. 

“America must stand firm with Israel and reject these misguided moves by our allies. The United States cannot and should not follow suit. Peace in the Middle East will never be achieved by rewarding violence,” concluded Congressman Lawler.

Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York's 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties. He was rated the most effective freshman lawmaker in the 118th Congress, 8th overall, surpassing dozens of committee chairs.

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