Forty-two members of the U.S. Senate Democratic caucus have sent a formal letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging a stronger response to what they describe as a "surge" in violence by settlers in the West Bank and a large-scale security response that has included mass arrests of Palestinians.
The letter, signed by 42 of the Senate's 47 Democrats, highlights rising incidents of "fatal violence by settlers" and requests intensified inquiries into the deaths of nine American citizens who lawmakers say have been killed by settlers or by Israeli security forces in the occupied territory since 2022.
Senators who drafted the correspondence included Adam Schiff of California, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Cory Booker of New Jersey. The lawmakers said the recent "significant surge" in violence has prompted an extensive Israeli security operation, widespread detentions of Palestinians and reported attacks by settlers on mosques.
The senators asked Prime Minister Netanyahu to issue unambiguous orders to both Israeli police and the military to prevent and to intervene in violent incidents in the West Bank "regardless of the perpetrators." Their appeal echoed long-standing criticism from rights groups that Israeli forces are often slow to respond when settlers attack Palestinian communities, or that they sometimes stand by while attacks occur.
The letter also called on the Israeli government to stop approving additional settlements and the construction of "illegal outposts in the West Bank," and to take steps to dismantle existing outposts.
In one recent incident cited by the letter, an Israeli man who was guarding a group of Jewish settlers walked onto Palestinian land and opened fire toward civilians, killing a 17-year-old and a 70-year-old man, officials said. That episode is referenced as part of the wave of settler violence the senators say requires urgent attention.
Israeli officials, the senators noted, have said figures at the highest level of government - including the president and the prime minister - have repeatedly condemned violence against Palestinians. The lawmakers, however, urged firmer operational directions to security forces to prevent future bloodshed and to ensure accountability.
The intervention by Senate Democrats marks a deepening strain between many members of their party and the government in Jerusalem over the handling of the West Bank, a tension that has grown alongside criticism over the conduct of the war in Gaza. Since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack that precipitated the war, Gaza health authorities report more than 73,000 Palestinian deaths. The initial assault killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and left more than 250 people taken hostage.
Many Democratic lawmakers and several candidates running in this year's midterm elections have become increasingly critical of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government's policies following the Gaza war. Some members of the party are urging significant restrictions - or even a complete cutoff - of billions of dollars in annual U.S. military aid to Israel as a response to its conduct in the conflict and its broader policies.
President Donald Trump has said little publicly about developments in the West Bank. His ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has denounced militant settlers as "Israeli terrorists" and said this month that those responsible for besieging the Palestinian village of Qusra could face U.S. sanctions.
The senators' letter frames its requests around enforcing the rule of law, protecting civilians and pursuing accountability for deaths of U.S. citizens in the West Bank. It underscores a heightened Congressional focus on Israeli policy in the occupied territory and adds to pressures on Jerusalem to change both its security directives and settlement approvals.