“The climate of unchecked hostility toward Palestinian civilians has spilled over to Americans who have been killed, injured, and detained without cause in the West Bank”

The effort was supported by the entire MA delegation.

Text of Letter (PDF)

August 10, 2026 - Washington, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Senator Chris Van Hollen, along with 19 of their colleagues, urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to use all diplomatic and economic tools at their disposal to end settler violence and expansion of settlements in the West Bank. The lawmakers also called for independent investigations of the nine Americans killed since January 2022.

The letter was signed by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). 

Representatives Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Bill Keating (D-Mass.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) also joined in signing the letter.

In 2025, there were 1,836 attacks on Palestinian communities and properties — the highest number since UN record-keeping began. Settlers have repeatedly attacked civilians and homes, including the burning of the Tuffaha family house, which belongs to U.S. citizens, including residents of Massachusetts and Washington. Since January 2025, 303 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers and settlers, including 70 children. Four Americans have been killed by Israeli settlers and security forces in the West Bank since Trump took office, raising the total to nine Americans killed in the West Bank since 2022. The U.S. Department of Justice has the authority to independently investigate the killing of Americans abroad but has reportedly not opened investigations into any of the killings since 2025.

Israel has also repeatedly detained Americans in the West Bank, including Sama Safi, a woman who was detained while her access to critical medications was interrupted, and a 15-year-old from Florida who reportedly lost a third of his body weight and suffered from a skin infection at the time of his release due to a lack of adequate food and medical care. The members called on the Trump administration to “work quickly to secure Ms. Safi’s immediate release, continued access to medical care, and push for the end of unjust and arbitrary detentions in the territory.”

Settlers have also increasingly attacked religious minorities in the West Bank. Taybeh, “the last entirely Christian village in the West Bank,” was burned and attacked multiple times by Israeli settlers in July 2025, including the grounds of its historic 5th-century church.

“We have concerns that the administration’s deference to the Netanyahu government has contributed to a climate of impunity and unbridled violence towards civilian populations and religious minorities,” wrote the lawmakers.

This pattern of violence has continued following President Trump’s decision to rescind U.S. sanctions on more than 30 individuals and organizations associated with the violence toward Palestinians in the West Bank. The Netanyahu government has since continued to allow and enable settler violence and Palestinian displacement to proceed. Israel has not issued a single jail sentence for settlers involved in violent attacks on Palestinians in six years. 

“Ending sanctions against those individuals and entities associated with West Bank extremism sent a clear message: settlers can use violent and deadly force with impunity against Palestinians and Americans while seizing land, the Israeli government can enable and expand its military occupation, and no one will face consequences,” wrote the lawmakers. 

The lack of action in response to violence in the West Bank directly contradicts previous statements by President Trump, who said, “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope, I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen.” Despite this, violent settlers and the Netanyahu government have proceeded to rapidly extend Israeli control over Palestinian civilian populations in the West Bank, causing harm to Palestinians and Americans alike.

The lawmakers urged the administration to restore meaningful costs to settlers and organizations that threaten Palestinian and Americans’ safety, to oppose annexation efforts in the West Bank, and to provide answers to their questions by August 17, 2025.

This letter is also endorsed by J Street.

Senator Warren has been a strong advocate for humanitarian assistance, opposing the Netanyahu government’s expansion of settlements, and is a long-time champion of civilian harm prevention reforms for the U.S. military:

• In April 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Van Hollen (D-Md.) led nine senators in opening a new investigation into Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s role in weakening civilian harm prevention programs and the catastrophic civilian impacts of President Trump’s war in Iran.
• In March 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) raised her concerns to the commanders of United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM) and United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) about the Trump administration’s sidelining of the military’s Judge Advocate General Corps (JAGs), who are responsible for providing independent legal advice to commanders. This sidelining risks increasing the chances of civilian harm as the war against Iran continues.
• In March 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, along with Senators Van Hollen (D-Md.), Kaine (D-Va.), Schatz (D-Hawaii), Senate Democratic Leader Schumer (D-N.Y.), and 41 colleagues, pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for a full investigation on the airstrikes on a school in Minab, Iran, and other civilian casualties in the Trump administration’s war on Iran. The senators are also calling for accountability for those responsible.
• In March 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren joined Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and30 of their colleagues in pressing the Trump Administration for accountability and an investigation into the death of Nasrallah Abu Siyam, an American citizen who was shot and killed in the West Bank by violent Israeli settlers. 
• In March 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), spoke on the floor of the Senate, calling on Congress to end President Donald Trump’s reckless war in Iran and investigate civilian harm in Iran.
• In December 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren launched an investigation into the role of the U.S. military in distributing humanitarian assistance to Gaza following the October ceasefire.
• On November 24, 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Ed Markey, and 98 members of Congress urged the Trump administration to work with both Israeli authorities and international partners to push toward rebuilding accessible hospitals and medical infrastructure in Gaza.
• On November 4, 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed Austin Dahmer, nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities, on her concerns about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the need to ensure Palestinians get desperately needed aid without interference.
• On October 9, 2025, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) wrote to the Department of State (State Department) requesting an explanation for the department’s failure to provide timely consular services to American citizens who were detained while on the Global Sumud Flotilla.
• On September 25, 2025, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to intervene with the Netanyahu government to protect the safety of peaceful civilian members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a group of vessels carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, which has reportedly been facing multiple attacks.
• On September 17, 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calling for changes in Trump Administration policies that are presently exacerbating the risk of collapse in the West Bank.
• On September 3, 2025, Senator Warren, Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) demanded clarity from the Department of State (State) and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on its decision to award $30 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
• On June 20, 2025, Senator Warren sent a new letter to the Secretary of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) raising her concerns about the Department of State’s reported plan to give $500 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
• On May 22, 2025, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) led 28 senators in introducing a resolution calling on the Trump Administration to use all diplomatic tools at its disposal to bring an end to the blockade of food and lifesaving humanitarian aid to address the needs of civilians in Gaza.
• On May 9, 2025, Senator Warren and colleagues urged President Trump to take an active role in pressing for humanitarian aid and a return to ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in order to ensure Israel’s security and end more than 15 months of devastating conflict in Gaza.
• On May 6, 2025, Senators Warren, Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) called on U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro to launch a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into the federal government’s compliance with laws that require the U.S. to ensure recipients of U.S. assistance respect human rights and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.
• On April 23, 2024, Senator Warren released a statement on the passage of the national security supplemental package supporting life-saving humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza and criticizing the provision of more aid for Israel without additional conditions and the prohibition of funds to UNRWA.
• On March 22, 2024, Senator Warren and colleagues pressed the Biden administration to find that the Netanyahu Government’s assurances regarding the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza do not meet the “credible and reliable” test required by National Security Memorandum (NSM)-20.
• On March 11, 2024, Senator Warren and colleagues urged the Biden administration to follow the law by halting arms shipments to Israel while humanitarian aid was prevented from entering the Gaza Strip.
• On February 2, 2024, Senator Warren and colleagues pressured the Biden administration to encourage Israeli officials to take five specific steps to significantly increase urgently needed humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.
• On December 7, 2023, Senator Warren and lawmakers announced that they are working on an amendment to require that the weapons received by any country under the proposed national security supplemental be used in accordance with U.S. law, international humanitarian law, and the law of armed conflict.
  
  Source: Senator Elizabeth Warren