Bennet, Coons, Warren, Wyden, Gallego Introduce Bill to Impose Sanctions on Israeli Settlement Construction in the E1 Area of the West Bank

Sep 30, 2026 | Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joined U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to introduce legislation that would impose targeted sanctions on companies, individuals, and other entities that facilitate the development of illegal Israeli settlements or related structures in the E1 area of the West Bank, including by submitting a bid for E1 tenders. It would also impose sanctions on those who attempt to organize, direct, finance, or facilitate the transfer of Israeli civilians into E1 settlements.

"Benjamin Netanyahu's plans for construction in E1 are aimed to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and would gravely threaten prospects for a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," said Bennet. "Various American presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, have long recognized this and pressed Israeli governments not to move forward with this reckless project. Netanyahu and his ultra-right wing ministers, however, continue to prioritize their personal political interests ahead of Israeli and American security interests. The United States must use our considerable financial and diplomatic tools to reinforce its longstanding policy against Israeli annexation of the West Bank. That is why I am proud to sponsor this bill, which sends a clear message that those who facilitate Netanyahu's latest dangerous settlement expansion in E1 risk losing access to the U.S. financial system."

"For decades, American presidents from both parties have warned successive Israeli governments that construction in E1 threatened the viability of a Palestinian state and was unacceptable to the United States," said Coons. "As Palestinian civilians face a campaign of devastation and fear from violent extremist settlers, the United States must send a strong message that this behavior is unacceptable and that it remains committed to freedom, security, prosperity, and self-determination for all Israelis and Palestinians."

"The E1 settlement project is a move towards de facto annexation of the West Bank, and those who choose to facilitate settlement construction should understand that they risk losing access to the U.S. financial system," said Warren. "The United States must use all diplomatic and economic tools available to counter rapid settlement expansion and extremist settler violence in the West Bank, spiraling trends that will only undermine the prospect of lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians."

Previous Israeli governments initiated plans for settlement construction in E1 in the 1990s, but they have halted them since 2005 amid international pressure. Last year, however, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government approved construction of more than 3,000 housing units in the E1 area, which connects the northern and southern West Bank. In recent weeks, Israel announced tenders to allow companies to bid for construction of these settlements. If completed, these units could sever the West Bank in two, gravely threatening the viability of a future Palestinian state. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, have publicly acknowledged - and spoken positively about - how E1 settlement expansion will make such an outcome impossible.

In September 2026, Bennet demanded that Netanyahu take immediate action to address surging Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, including Palestinian-Americans, in the West Bank. In March 2026, Bennet pressed the Trump administration for an investigation into the death of Nasrallah Abu Siyam, an American citizen who Israeli settlers shot and killed in the West Bank. In October 2025, Bennet urged President Trump to reinforce longstanding U.S. policy opposing any potential Israeli annexation of territory in the West Bank. In August 2025, Bennet introduced the West Bank Violence Prevention Act to deter and prevent destabilizing violence in the West Bank, particularly against civilians, by requiring the President to impose sanctions on foreign persons engaging in violent extremist acts of terror, intimidation, and coercion against civilians in the West Bank.

In addition to Bennet, Coons, Warren, Wyden, and Gallego, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) cosponsored this legislation.

The text of the bill is available HERE.

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