A number of Democratic senators announced on Thursday their intention to introduce a resolution obligating the administration of President Donald Trump to provide information to Congress regarding acts of violence committed by settlers against Palestinians and American citizens in the occupied West Bank.
The initiative is being led by Senators Chris Van Hollen Tim Kaine and Bernie Sanders who are demanding that the U.S. State Department provide detailed reports on the investigations into the killing of nine American citizens by Israeli settlers in recent years, along with assessments of the impact of Israeli policies on human rights, including the detention of Palestinian children, according to the Common Dreams platform.
Van Hollen reportedly said the decision was necessary given the Trump administration's failure to take any action to hold the Israeli government accountable for the killing of American citizens.
He added: “With the escalation of violence in the West Bank, American citizens have been killed time and again, without justice or accountability. It is time to get answers about their killings, as well as about the escalating violent instability in the West Bank and the injustice faced by Palestinian civilians on a daily basis.”
Sanders accused the Israeli government of granting impunity to settlers who repeatedly commit "horrific acts of violence" against Palestinian civilians.
Sanders said: “Enough is enough. The United States cannot continue to fund and condone this violence; it is time to end our complicity, once and for all.”
For his part, Keane described the Israeli government's "lack of response" to settler violence as "unacceptable," warning that it "threatens long-term peace and security in the entire region."
“Friends should listen to each other,” Kane said. “My colleagues and I have repeatedly urged Israeli leaders to take stronger action to curb illegal settlements in the West Bank, prosecute settlers who commit acts of violence, and protect the Palestinian population, as well as American citizens who live in or visit the West Bank.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren who supports the resolution, also criticized what she called the Trump White House’s complicity with Israeli settler attacks, noting that the administration went so far as to roll back sanctions that had been imposed on individuals linked to this pattern of violence.
Warren said: "It is long past time for the U.S. government to stand up for human rights, investigate these acts of violence against Americans and Palestinian civilians, provide Congress with full information, and hold the perpetrators accountable."
Introducing the resolution as a "priority resolution" allows Democrats to force a vote on it in the Senate chamber if the Senate Foreign Relations Committee does not take action on it within 10 days of its submission.
Human rights organizations have been warning for months about the escalating situation in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli settlers frequently launch attacks on Palestinians inside their homes.
An analysis published last month by the Carter Center concluded that “settler attacks have now become the leading cause of Palestinian injury in the West Bank,” noting that more than 3,200 Palestinians have been displaced by settler attacks and home demolitions this year, double the daily average recorded in the previous three years.
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