I am writing to urge you to cosponsor S.5476, a bill to impose targeted sanctions on those who build or facilitate Israeli settlements in the E1 area of the West Bank.
For decades, administrations of both parties have treated E1 as a red line. Construction there would split the northern West Bank from the south and cut East Jerusalem off from the Palestinian communities around it, severely undermining a viable Palestinian state and a negotiated two-state outcome. In recent weeks, Israel has put essentially the entire E1 plan out to tender. Bids on 1,234 homes close October 19. Bidding for a further 2,147 homes will close just two days before Israel's October 27 election.
This bill, introduced by Senators Coons, Warren, Wyden, and Gallego, gives the United States a concrete and targeted response. It would direct the Treasury Department to sanction companies and individuals responsible for or complicit in E1 construction, including those who bid on these tenders, and those who finance or facilitate the transfer of Israeli civilians into E1.
Sanctions on settlements are not sanctions on Israel. Settlement expansion violates Palestinian rights and burdens Israel's own security, and stopping E1 serves the long-term interests of Israelis and Palestinians alike.
Our allies are already acting. The United Kingdom, France, and Canada have announced sanctions on settlement expansion, and twelve countries have committed to introduce or support trade restrictions on settlements. The United States should not be the outlier in defending a policy it has upheld for decades.
Nineteen of your Senate colleagues have already cosponsored this legislation. I respectfully ask you to join them.
