Dozens of US House Democrats urge Netanyahu to act against West Bank settler violence

A group of US House lawmakers is urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take immediate steps to curb settler violence in the occupied West Bank, protect Palestinian communities and investigate attacks involving American citizens. In a Sept. 24 letter to Netanyahu, the lawmakers expressed “urgent concern” over escalating violence in the West Bank. “We write with urgent concern regarding the growing outbreak of extremist settler violence in the West Bank, including violence that has killed and threatened American citizens,” they wrote. They said continued settlement expansion and violence could affect Israel's long-term security and prospects for peace, prosperity and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians. The lawmakers cited data they said showed a significant increase in settler violence in recent years. According to the letter, attacks by Israeli settlers, including incidents involving Palestinians and Israeli security forces, increased 27% in 2025, while serious incidents rose 63% during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier. They also cited UN figures indicating that 1,122 Palestinians, including civilians and combatants, were killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem between Oct. 7, 2023 and July 24, 2026. They said 67 Israelis had been killed by Palestinians in the West Bank since the beginning of 2023. The letter said settler violence had displaced residents from 107 communities since January 2023, affecting approximately 6,000 Palestinians. The lawmakers also cited more than 1,380 settler-related incidents documented by the UN across more than 250 Palestinian communities since the beginning of 2026. "Israeli settler attacks have made daily life unsafe for Palestinians across large parts of the West Bank,” they said. The lawmakers said attacks have affected Palestinian schools, farmers and families, with some residents reporting physical assaults, displacement from agricultural land and restrictions on movement. “Nine American citizens have been killed in the West Bank since January 2022. To date, no one has been held accountable for any of these nine deaths. Many of us have heard directly from constituents, including American citizens who have themselves been threatened or harassed by settlers without cause,” they added. The lawmakers asked Netanyahu's government to take three specific steps. First, they called on the Israeli Police and Israel Defense Forces to defend Palestinian communities when they come under attack and to apply that standard regardless of who the attackers are. Second, they called for a transparent and credible mechanism to investigate and prosecute violence against Palestinians, including Palestinian Americans. They also urged Israel to complete pending investigations into the deaths of the nine American citizens identified in the letter. Third, the lawmakers called on Israel to halt additional settlement approvals and continue removing illegal outposts in the West Bank. "Restoring the rule of law in the West Bank serves the security of Israelis and Palestinians alike. The safety of our constituents matters to us as the safety of your citizens matters to you. "We ask that your government ensure that Americans living in or visiting the Israeli-controlled areas of the West Bank receive the security and the protection of property to which they are entitled," the lawmakers wrote.