119th CONGRESS 2d Session |
Condemning Israeli settlement expansion, settler violence, and related human rights abuses in the West Bank, and calling for accountability and specific United States policy responses to deter further violations and protect the viability of a negotiated two-State solution.
March 2, 2026
Mr. Khanna submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
Condemning Israeli settlement expansion, settler violence, and related human rights abuses in the West Bank, and calling for accountability and specific United States policy responses to deter further violations and protect the viability of a negotiated two-State solution.
Whereas the United States has a national interest in promoting respect for internationally recognized human rights, protecting civilians, upholding international humanitarian law, and advancing a durable peace between Israelis and Palestinians;
Whereas Israeli settlement expansion, land confiscation, home demolitions, and violence perpetuated by settler extremists in the West Bank, undermine stability, threaten civilian lives and property, and threaten the viability of a negotiated two-State solution;
Whereas senior Israeli officials, including Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have promoted or enabled policies that advance de facto annexation and facilitate settlement expansion in the West Bank;
Whereas Palestinian communities in the West Bank face demolition orders and forcible displacement, including in communities such as Umm al-Khair, where residents have reported rapid demolitions and a lack of effective accountability;
Whereas credible reporting has documented numerous incidents of settler violence, including incidents reported in Khallet al Sidra, and allegations that Israeli security forces have often failed not only to prevent such violence but also to ensure accountability for perpetrators, contributing to a climate of impunity;
Whereas Israeli civil society organizations have reported significant land seizure actions in areas of archaeological and religious significance, including in the vicinity of Sebastia, and have raised concerns regarding inadequate time and process for affected residents to object;
Whereas the Israeli security cabinet has recently approved measures expanding Israeli supervision and enforcement activities related to archaeological and heritage sites into Areas A and B of the West Bank, raising concerns regarding the expansion of administrative control and its impact on Palestinian communities and territorial contiguity;
Whereas the Israeli security cabinet has also advanced additional measures affecting governance, land administration, and settlement entrenchment in the West Bank that further consolidate control and raise concerns regarding de facto annexation;
Whereas the establishment of unauthorized Israeli settlement “outposts” that are retroactively authorized contributes to violence, displacement, and further settlement expansion;
Whereas “E1” refers to the area in the West Bank between East Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim Settlement, and statements by senior Israeli officials have indicated that development in the E1 corridor would prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and such construction, approvals, tenders, or enabling infrastructure would materially undermine territorial contiguity needed for a negotiated two-State solution;
Whereas Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, including in neighborhoods such as Silwan, face home demolitions, evictions, settlement activity, and land designations that threaten displacement and further undermine the geographic and political viability of a negotiated two-State solution;
Whereas certain applications of United States double-taxation relief and foreign tax credit provisions may have the effect of reducing United States tax liability for individuals residing in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, thereby indirectly subsidizing settlement activity that contributes to land confiscation, displacement, and other actions inconsistent with long-standing United States policy: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved,
(1) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to the protection of civilians, respect for internationally recognized human rights, and a negotiated resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that ensures equal measures of freedom, security, and self determination for Israelis and Palestinians;
(2) condemns Israeli settlement expansion, land confiscation, home demolitions, forcible displace- ment, and settler violence in the West Bank, and expresses grave concern regarding credible allegations of impunity from the Government of Israel for such acts;
(3) calls upon the Government of Israel to immediately halt home demolitions and to pause the issuance and enforcement of demolition orders in the West Bank, including in communities such as Umm al-Khair, pending transparent review procedures that meet due process requirements and ensure protection of civilians;
(4) calls upon the Government of Israel to cancel land confiscation actions in Sebastia and provide affected residents a meaningful opportunity to challenge such past, ongoing, and potential future actions through fair and transparent procedures;
(5) calls upon the Government of Israel to halt approvals for additional West Bank settlements, take effective steps to prevent and ensure accountability for associated settler violence, evacuate unauthorized settlement outposts and prevent their retroactive authorization, and facilitate the safe return of individuals and families previously displaced from land in the West Bank due to settlement expansion, including through restoration or restitution of property or compensation where appropriate;
(6) urges the President and the Secretary of State to use all available authorities, including the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and related visa authorities, to impose targeted sanctions on individuals credibly implicated in ordering, directing, materially assisting, or knowingly facili1tating serious human rights abuses in the West Bank, including senior officials as appropriate, in- cluding Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir;
(7) urges the President and relevant agencies to impose appropriate measures, consistent with United States law, against entities that knowingly finance, construct, or otherwise materially support settlement expansion or activity that contributes to home demolitions, land confiscation, or forcible displacement in the West Bank;
(8) expresses support for legislative and administrative actions to end the application of United States double-taxation relief in ways that indirectly subsidize settlement activity, including tax benefits associated with taxes paid to Israel by United States persons residing in Israeli settlements in the West Bank;
(9) affirms the principle that United States tax- payer resources should not subsidize or facilitate set- tlement expansion, home demolitions, land confisca- tion, or other actions that contribute to forcible displacement or serious human rights abuses in the West Bank; and
(10) calls upon the President to condition specified categories of United States security assistance, as appropriate and consistent with United States law, on a verifiable freeze of E1 activity, including any approvals, tenders, construction, or enabling in- frastructure that advances E1.