Democrats vow to confront Israel over West Bank settler violence if they win House

House Democrats say they will confront Israel over human rights if they flip the chamber in the midterms, with party leaders singling out settler violence in the West Bank.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is in line to become Speaker, said settler violence in the West Bank is one area Democrats intend to tackle, The Hill reports. “That cannot continue,” he told reporters last week in the Capitol.

Jeffries and deputies Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar have endorsed a bill by Rep. Jerry Nadler that would impose economic sanctions on anyone who engages in violence in the occupied West Bank and bar them from entering the United States. It is formally backed by 174 House Democrats, including Steny Hoyer and Lois Frankel.

Jeffries also said creating a Palestinian state “needs to be a twin priority.”

In the Senate this week, Sens. Chris Coons, Ruben Gallego, Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren introduced legislation to sanction any company involved in developing the E-1 project.

Between January 2025 and June 2026, the United Nations recorded 2,803 settler attacks that caused Palestinian casualties, property destruction, or both.