Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jerrold Nadler (10th District of New York)
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Rep. Adam Smith (WA-09), and Rep. Jim Himes (CT-04), introduced the West Bank Violence Prevention Act in response to Leader of the Jewish Power Party and Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to the United States.
The West Bank Violence Prevention Act codifies and enshrines into law the Biden Administration’s Executive Order 14115, which sought to prevent acts of violence in the West Bank and to punish those who commit such acts. The legislation, like the Executive Order, applies to those committing acts of violence in the West Bank, regardless of their nationality. During the Biden Administration, determinations under the Executive Order were made regarding both Palestinian and Israeli organizations and individuals.
President Trump repealed EO 14115 on his first day of his term, January 20, 2025. As a result, violent extremist organizations like the Palestinian group Lions’ Den and the Israeli settler group Hilltop Youth are no longer designated under the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List). With their assets no longer frozen, these groups continue wreaking terror in the West Bank unencumbered.
According to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, settler violence increased by an estimated 30 percent over the first few months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Such violence has reached a fever pitch, causing the West Bank to become “a tinderbox,” one match away from igniting into catastrophe.
The members joined together to introduce this legislation as Itamar Ben-Gvir completes his visit to the United States. Ben-Gvir has referred to the Hilltop Youth as “sweet kids,” has reportedly also used his authority as Minister of Internal Security to direct Israel’s police to shield perpetrators of settler violence, including giving them “a secret sense of backing” from the Israeli police. The Act serves to send a message: Ben-Gvir’s incitement is not welcome in our communities and in the United States.
“Itamar Ben-Gvir serves as inciter-in-chief of settler violence in the West Bank,” said Rep. Nadler. “In August of 2024, violent settlers chanting ‘we are Ben-Gvir’s gang’ burned down the home of a Palestinian family in the West Bank town of Jit. Ben-Gvir also downplayed concern expressed by Israeli security officials at a cabinet meeting regarding a wave of deadly settler violence in 2023, including the death of a 19-year-old Palestinian in Huwara, calling the attacks simply ‘graffiti.’ The head of Israel’s internal security service wrote to Prime Minister Netanyahu in August of 2024 that Ben-Gvir’s actions are doing ‘indescribable damage,’ and are ‘a massive stain on Judaism and us all.’ Let’s be crystal clear about who Itamar Ben-Gvir is: a racist, terrorist, Jewish supremacist. This past week Ben-Gvir brought his unique brand of hate across the ocean to American campuses, meetings with American Jews, and with at least one Republican Member of Congress. I am proud to be leading my colleagues in meetings Ben-Gvir’s arrival with the West Bank Violence Prevention Act, which will build on the progress made by the Biden Administration, and make clear that the United States Congress will not stand for Ben-Gvir’s incitement, and the settler violence in the West Bank that he champions. This bill would also prevent violence by all perpetrators, settler and Palestinian alike. I hope my colleagues will join us in using the tools at our disposal to enshrine President Biden’s landmark Executive Order on violence in the West Bank into law.”
“Violence in the West Bank threatens peace and stability in the region, and any entity committing this violence, from extremist Israeli settlers to the Palestinian terrorist group Lions’ Den, must be sanctioned,” said Rep. Smith. “Israel’s encouragement of settler organizations in the West Bank has exacerbated tensions in the region, as Prime Minister Netanyahu, Finance Minister Smotrich, and National Security Minister Ben-Gvir have promoted Israeli settler expansion and tacitly enabled settler violence. Further violence from any Israeli or Palestinian hostile actors must be discouraged to prevent further threats to the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank, Gaza, Israel, and the broader Middle East.”
“The ongoing violence in the West Bank, from both Israeli settlers and Palestinian terrorist groups, is devastating for residents in the short-term and detrimental to long-term stability in the territory,” said Rep. Himes. “The Biden Administration’s Executive Order took an important step towards deterring extremism in the region, and the West Bank Violence Prevention Act would codify that language to ensure that instigators of such violence are held accountable for their actions.”
The text of the West Bank Violence Prevention Act can be viewed here.
Rep. Nadler’s remarks at the “Say No to Ben-Gvir” rally in New York City can be watched here and read here.
###