45 Democratic Senators demand Israel halt settlement expansion, crack down on alleged ‘settler violence’

45 of Senate’s 47 Democrats sign letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu demanding that Israel end construction in Judea and Samaria, demolish outpost settlements, and crack down on alleged “settler violence.”

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

A group of 45 members of the Senate Democratic caucus has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt further settlement expansion in Judea and Samaria, dismantle outpost communities, and order Israeli security forces to crack down on alleged acts of violence attributed to Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria.

The August 26 letter, led by Sens. Adam Schiff of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, was signed by nearly the entire 47-member Democratic caucus. The signatories included 44 of the Senate’s 45 Democrats as well as independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats.

The only members of the Democratic caucus who did not sign were Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Fetterman was therefore the only formally Democratic senator to withhold his name, while Sanders, an independent, also declined to join the letter.

Addressed directly to Netanyahu, the letter said the senators were concerned about rising violence in Judea and Samaria and warned that continued settlement construction and fighting could damage Israel’s long-term security and prospects for an eventual Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

The senators said fatal attacks attributed to Israelis have already surpassed their 2025 level and cited what they called a “significant surge in violence on both sides” in recent weeks. The letter referred to Israeli security operations and mass arrests of suspected Palestinian terrorists as well as reported acts of vandalism.

They urged Netanyahu to order the Israel Police and IDF to step up policing against Israeli civilians in the area.

The lawmakers also demanded that Israel establish a transparent process for prosecuting civilians and security personnel suspected in attacks against Palestinians, including Palestinian-Americans, and complete investigations into the deaths of nine US citizens whom they said have been killed by Israeli civilians or security forces in Judea and Samaria since 2022.

The nine US citizens were not identified in the letter, but were referenced in a list published in a March 5, 2026, letter by Senator Chris Van Hollen.

Of the nine, one reportedly died of a heart attack after being detained by Israeli security personnel; one was unintentionally shot by an IDF soldier while she was taking part in a violent riot; one was unintentionally shot while she was reporting on an arrest operation in Jenin; and the remaining six were killed either while throwing stones at Israelis or during clashes with Israelis.

In all six of those cases, relatives of those killed have denied or downplayed their roles in violence against Israelis.

The letter comes shortly after a high-profile confrontation in Samaria, outside the Palestinian Authority-administered town of Qusra, south of Nablus, on a strategic ridge where two Arab houses were illegally constructed.

One of the two was partly financed by Palestinian-American businessman Louai Abu Ridi, who resides in Toledo, Ohio. His brother, Qusay Abu Ridi, was living in the house and became one of the central Palestinian figures in the dispute.

After a series of attacks on Israelis in the area, including stone-throwing attacks and shootings from the Abu Ridi house and a violent assault led by Qusay on a Jewish shepherd, Israeli activists established several outposts near the two illegal Palestinian homes.

Qusay, however, told Israeli and foreign media outlets that his brother’s illegal home had been placed under siege, and accused Israeli activists of vandalizing the property, with the case drawing international attention and criticism from US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

The senators also called on Netanyahu to “stop approving additional settlements,” prevent construction of unauthorized outposts and take steps to remove existing unauthorized outposts.

The lawmakers also invoked the publicly stated positions of the Trump administration, saying President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had expressed opposition both to violence in the area and to steps toward Israeli annexation of the territory.

The letter was penned after Israel announced that it has issued tenders for more than 1,200 housing units in the E1 corridor, which links Jerusalem to the town of Ma’ale Adumim to the east.

Critics of Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria have long warned the project would block any future Palestinian state from establishing territorial contiguity between Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.

DemocratsIsraeli settlementsJudea and Samariasettler violence