Top Democrats accuse Trump officials over Israeli settlers’ ‘unbridled violence’
Letter says lifting of sanctions sent ‘clear message’ settlers can use deadly force in West Bank without consequences
Source excerpt
Senior Democrats have accused Donald Trump’s administration of giving a green light to violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, warning that its policies created “a climate of impunity and unbridled violence” that endangers both Palestinians and US citizens.
In a letter seen by the Guardian, a group of 19 Democratic senators and representatives call for the restoration of sanctions against extremist settlers and demand independent US investigations into the deaths of nine US citizens killed in the West Bank since 2022.
The letter, signed by Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren among others, is addressed to Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary.
It argues that Trump’s promise last year that “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank” has been undermined by events on the ground. “In practice,” the Democrats write, “violent settlers and the [Benjamin] Netanyahu government have proceeded to rapidly extend Israeli control over civilian populations in the region.”
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