45 Senate Democrats Urge Netanyahu to Rein In West Bank Settler Violence and Mass Arrests

On Wednesday, August 26, 2026, 45 of the US Senate's 47-member Democratic caucus sent a joint letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, drafted by Senators Adam Schiff, Chuck Schumer and Cory Booker, urging him to rein in a 'significant surge' of West Bank settler violence and a 'large-scale response by Israeli security forces' that the senators said had produced mass arrests of Palestinians and reported attacks by settlers on mosques. The letter called for clear instructions to Israeli police and military to prevent and intervene in violent confrontations 'regardless of the perpetrators,' demanded a halt to approvals for illegal outposts and removal of existing ones, and pressed Netanyahu to accelerate investigations into the deaths of nine American citizens the senators said have been killed by settlers or Israeli security forces in the West Bank since 2022. The letter followed a separate speech in which Netanyahu told a settlers' event that Israel had established or legalized 104 West Bank communities and 160 farms, 'with more to come,' and pledged 'a very large wave of immigration' to the territory.