Sens. Warren, Coons, Schatz, Reed, Shaheen, Warner Sound Alarm on Trump Administration Policies Exacerbating Risk of Collapse in the West Bank

Sens. Warren, Coons, Schatz, Reed, Shaheen, Warner Sound Alarm on Trump Administration Policies Exacerbating Risk of Collapse in the West Bank

"The Trump Administration should demonstrate that it takes this concern seriously by immediately taking three concrete steps."

"Otherwise, the Administration's policies will continue contributing to that desperation, including by emboldening settler violence and standing by as the Palestinian economy nears the brink of collapse."

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Chris Coons (D-DE), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on East Asia, The Pacific, & International Cybersecurity Policy, Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 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.

"We write to express growing alarm over the deteriorating security situation in the West Bank amid new warnings by Israel's security agency Shin Bet that the Palestinian Authority (PA) could soon collapse, threatening to plunge the region into violent new chaos," wrote the Senators. "U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee has also expressed concern about this imminent risk and emphasized, 'If the Palestinian economy were to completely collapse, it won't be a winning deal for anyone. It would lead to an escalation and further desperation.'"

The Senators laid out three concrete steps the Trump Administration should take to avert further destabilization in the region:

1. Press the Israeli government to release funds: Press the Israeli government to stop withholding clearance revenues and disrupting correspondent banking relationships, both critical to restoring the stability of the Palestinian economy and banking system.
2. Condemn settlements: Publicly and clearly oppose Israel's approval of settlements explicitly designed to end Palestinian and Israeli aspirations for a two-state solution.
3. Restore sanctions Trump revoked: Restore the authority to impose financial sanctions targeting destabilizing acts in the West Bank including extremist settler violence, forced displacement, and property destruction.

The Senators called for a response by October 1, 2025 describing steps the Trump Administration is taking to avert further desperation and instability in the West Bank.

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