Gaza: More than 20 US senators have introduced a resolution calling for Congress to be briefed on acts of violence involving Israeli soldiers and colonists who seize Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, a statement issued by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee highlighted that over 20 senators, led by Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Van Hollen, Tim Kaine, and Bernie Sanders, initiated this action in response to settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank. The resolution calls on the US State Department to provide Congress with a briefing on the escalating violence in the region.
The resolution mandates the State Department to present information obtained through investigations into the killings of US citizens by colonists or Israeli soldiers, along with an assessment of the human rights situation, particularly concerning the detention of Palestinian children. Senator Jeanne Shaheen was quoted stating that the violence perpetrated by extremist colonists against Palestinians undermines the rule of law and jeopardizes the two-state solution.
Senator Chris Van Hollen emphasized the urgency of obtaining answers concerning the attacks and abuses faced by Palestinians in the West Bank. Since the onset of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip in 2023, violence by Israeli forces and colonists against Palestinians and their properties in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has intensified.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reported that settlers conducted 628 attacks in August alone, with significant incidents occurring in Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem, Tubas, Jenin, and Jerusalem. These attacks have resulted in casualties, including the death of 17-year-old Karim Sanad Shalaldeh during an assault in Hebron Governorate. The total number of Palestinians killed by colonist gunfire this year has reached 25.
Furthermore, colonist attacks have directly injured or harmed 164 Palestinians, including 20 children and 17 women. Hebron recorded the highest number of affected individuals, followed by Nablus and Ramallah and al-Bireh.