Senate Democrats are moving to sanction individuals and entities involved in Israel’s E1 settlement project, one of the most consequential efforts to reshape the occupied West Bank. The timing is significant. Reports that the project may have been put on hold raise the question of whether the pause represents a substantive policy change or merely a tactical delay.
Meanwhile, the Senate is preparing to leave Washington this week, narrowing the immediate window for action. The question is no longer simply whether Democrats object to illegal settlement expansion, but whether they are prepared to turn those objections into consequences. The legislation, introduced on September 23 by Senators Chris Coons, Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden and Ruben Gallego, would target individuals and entities involved in facilitating settlement construction in E1.
It has at least 10 Democratic cosponsors and was referred to the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. E1 lies between occupied East Jerusalem and the major illegal settlement of Maale Adumim. Its development has long been viewed by Palestinian officials, foreign governments and advocates of a two-state solution as particularly consequential because construction there could disrupt territorial continuity between northern and southern parts of the occupied West Bank while further isolating East Jerusalem.
The issue, therefore, is not simply another settlement project, but whether the geography of the West Bank is being altered in ways that could make Palestinian territorial self-determination increasingly difficult. The proposed legislation would impose sanctions on foreign individuals and entities determined by the Treasury Department to have facilitated settlement construction or related activity in E1, including participation in tenders. It would also target those involved in organising, financing or facilitating the transfer of Israeli civilians into illegal settlements in the area.
That would represent a departure from the traditional Washington response. A government can dismiss a diplomatic protest; sanctions affecting companies, individuals or access to the US financial system are harder to ignore. Yet the measure remains a proposal, its prospects are uncertain, and the House of Representatives is out of session.
The Senate’s impending departure means the immediate political opportunity is narrowing, although the legislation will remain alive during the recess. Its significance, therefore, may depend as much on what happens when Congress returns as on what happens before it leaves. Reports that the E1 project may have been put on hold deserve attention, but also caution.
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