Urgent Condemnation of Illegal Settlement Expansion in the Occupied West Bank

Urgent Condemnation of Illegal Settlement Expansion in the Occupied West Bank I am writing to urgently demand that you publicly condemn the Israeli government's latest approval of 764 new housing units in the occupied West Bank settlements of Hashmonaim, Beitar Illit, and Givat Ze'ev. As confirmed by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, this decision is part of a deliberate strategy to strengthen settlements. It brings the total units approved under his tenure to over 51,000. This systematic expansion is widely recognized by the international community, including the United Nations Security Council, as illegal under international law. It is not merely construction; it is a concrete step toward the "de facto annexation" of Palestinian land, as stated by the Israeli watchdog group Peace Now. This policy entrenches an apartheid regime, inflames regional tensions, and deliberately undermines any possibility of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state. This approval coincides with a documented surge in violent attacks by settlers against Palestinians, including the destruction of homes, mosques, and farmland during the recent olive harvest, with Israeli authorities doing little to intervene. The United States must not be complicit. I demand that you: 1. Issue a strong, public statement condemning this and all settlement expansion as illegal and destructive to peace. 2. Support all diplomatic and tangible measures to pressure Israel to reverse this policy, in line with longstanding U.S. policy and international consensus. 3. Ensure that no American aid or support facilitates the occupation or settlement enterprise. Continuing unconditional support for a government actively pursuing annexation betrays our stated values and makes a just peace impossible.