3rd Thursday Alert – Call on Congress to Oppose Israeli Settlement Expansion

Palestinian families across the occupied West Bank are being driven from their homes and land by Israeli settler violence and expanding settlements. Armed Israeli settlers attack residents, burn homes and crops, steal livestock, and destroy water systems, stripping families of both safety and the means to sustain themselves. Israeli soldiers protect settlers, stand by during attacks, and, in documented cases, participate in violence and displacement. Together with home demolitions and restrictions on movement, these actions are uprooting Palestinian communities, enabling the takeover of their land, and undermining the possibility of a just and lasting peace.

Between September 15 and 21, 2026, the United Nations documented 51 settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties, property damage, or both. At least 800 olive, fruit, and palm trees were damaged, uprooted, or burned. Settlers also damaged irrigation pipelines, punctured water tanks used by herding families, and vandalized electricity infrastructure. These attacks deprive families of income and basic services while increasing pressure on them to leave their homes and land.

The planned E1 settlement expansion east of Jerusalem poses a particularly grave threat. Israel has approved 3,401 housing units between East Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement. If completed, the project would sever Palestinian territorial contiguity and gravely threaten the viability of a future Palestinian state. Approximately 4,000 Palestinians in 18 nearby Bedouin and herding communities face the risk of forced displacement.

Palestinian families deserve to live safely in their homes, cultivate their land, and build a future in freedom. A just peace must uphold the rights and security of Palestinians and Israelis alike. Congress has a responsibility to ensure that U.S. policy does not enable dispossession and settlement expansion.

Urge your senators and representative to support two bills that would impose meaningful consequences on those who carry out and support settlement expansion:

• S. 5476 — Sanctions on E1 settlement construction: Introduced by Senator Chris Coons and Senate colleagues, this bill would require sanctions on foreign individuals and entities involved in E1 settlement construction, financing, supporting infrastructure, and the transfer of Israeli civilians into E1 settlements.
• H.R. 10642 — Stop the Settlements Act: Introduced by Representative Joaquin Castro, this bill would impose sanctions for specified activities supporting Israeli settlement construction and expansion in the West Bank or Gaza. It would also prohibit U.S. imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements and outposts.

Contact Congress today. Ask your senators to cosponsor S. 5476 and your representative to cosponsor H.R. 10642—and urge them to press for passage. Palestinian communities need protection from violence and displacement now. These bills offer concrete steps toward accountability and a just and lasting peace.

Sample emails

House:

Dear Rep. ____

As your constituent, I urge you to cosponsor H.R. 10642, the Stop the Settlements Act, and work for its passage.

Israeli settler violence and settlement expansion are driving Palestinian families from their homes and land. Attacks on residents and the destruction of crops and water systems are devastating livelihoods, uprooting communities, and undermining the possibility of a just and lasting peace.

This bill would impose sanctions for specified settlement-related activities and prohibit U.S. imports of settlement goods. Congress must ensure that U.S. policy does not enable Palestinian dispossession.

Please support this legislation to help protect Palestinian communities and advance a just peace for Palestinians and Israelis alike. If you already cosponsor it, thank you. Please encourage your colleagues to join you and help secure its passage.

Sincerely,

Senate:

Dear Sen. ___

As your constituent, I urge you to cosponsor S. 5476 and work for its passage.

Israel has approved 3,401 settlement housing units in E1, east of Jerusalem. If completed, this project would sever Palestinian territorial contiguity and gravely threaten the viability of a future Palestinian state. Nearby Palestinian communities face the risk of forced displacement.

S. 5476 would impose targeted financial sanctions on foreign individuals and entities involved in E1 settlement construction and related financing, infrastructure, and civilian transfers.

Please support this legislation to help protect Palestinian communities and preserve the possibility of a just peace for Palestinians and Israelis alike. If you already cosponsor it, thank you; please help secure its passage.

Sincerely,