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Overview
Since October 7th, 2023, violence in the West Bank has surged to the highest recorded levels. Settler violence against Palestinian civilians is estimated to have increased by 30 percent over the first few months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
The West Bank Violence Prevention Act, H.R. 3045 introduced by Reps. Nadler (D-NY-12), Smith (D-WA-09), and Himes (D-CT-04) codifies the Biden Administration’s Executive Order (EO) 14115, which placed sanctions on individuals and entities undermining security and stability in the West Bank. On his first day in office, President Trump revoked EO 14115.
Like President Biden’s executive order, this legislation is designed to inhibit and punish the violent Israeli settlers and Palestinian terrorist groups for these actions, which undermine a critical US policy objective: peace and the viability of a two-state solution.
Sanctions Framework
- H.R. 3045 authorizes US sanctions against any individual or entity found to be undermining security and stability in the West Bank.
- In practice, the sanctions that the Biden administration put in place significantly disrupted the support networks that enable extremist settler groups, denying individuals access to vital resources for attacks intended to harm and displace Palestinian civilians.
- Individuals and entities eligible for sanctions under H.R. 3045 are those that engage in:
- an act of violence or threat of violence targeting civilians
- efforts to place civilians in reasonable fear of violence with the purpose or effect of necessitating a change of residence to avoid such violence
- property destruction
- seizure or dispossession of property by private actors
Impact
- These sanctions place a spotlight on the perpetrators of violent activities that sabotage Israeli security, threaten Palestinian lives and safety, and undermine regional stability.
- Those sanctioned pursuant to H.R. 3045 would have their US assets frozen and any US transactions blocked. In practice, under President Biden’s EO this froze the bank accounts and credit cards of settlers sanctioned and significantly impaired the operations of organizations that funnel money from around the world to violent settlers.
- Sanctioned individuals are ineligible to enter the United States, with exceptions for compliance with U.N. Headquarters Agreement or law enforcement needs, and national security considerations.
Background
For decades, extremists in the West Bank have used violence as a tool against civilians to further their political goals. This includes Palestinian terrorist groups such as Lions’ Den, which were emboldened by the barbaric attack on October 7th, 2023. This also includes extremist settlers who use violence to intimidate and displace Palestinian civilians as a part of their project to seize land in the West Bank, establish facts on the ground to realize their vision for “Greater Israel,” and impede any efforts to establish a contiguous Palestinian state. The extremists in the settler movement and their financial backers are rarely held accountable by the Israeli government.
In 2024, the entities sanctioned by President Biden’s Executive Order included:
- Hilltop Youth – a violent group that engages in organized attacks. They have carried out a campaign of violence against Palestinian civilians, including using murder, arson, and assault as tools to drive Palestinians out of the West Bank. In the April 2024 attack on the Palestinian town of al-Mughayyir, Hilltop Youth set fire to homes, buildings, and vehicles, beat villagers, looted property, including livestock, and left one Palestinian dead.
- Tzav 9 – a far-right organization that has orchestrated demonstrations to prevent humanitarian aid from flowing from Jordan into Gaza via the West Bank by blocking roads, looting convoys, and setting delivery trucks on fire. Tzav 9 is closely backed by Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
- Amana – a far-right organization that grants loans and provides other financial support to develop settlements and outposts in the West Bank. The communities funded by Amana are often staging grounds for extremist settlers plotting to commit violence against Palestinian civilians. Amana strategically funds outposts and settlements through financing, loans, and building infrastructure to divide Palestinian communities and create pathways for settlers to seize additional land often using violence.
- Lions’ Den – a Palestinian terrorist group that emerged in late 2022 in the northern West Bank that is tied to several terror attacks, including shooting at the Israeli settlement, Har Bracha and attempting to detonate pipe bombs in Tel Aviv.
