BS BULLETIN:

• House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats intend to confront escalating settler violence in the West Bank if they take control of the House.
• The shift is reaching some of Israel’s longtime Democratic allies, with Reps. Steny Hoyer and Lois Frankel joining legislation aimed at violent settlers.
• Democrats insist they still support Israel’s right to defend itself, but Netanyahu’s government is facing growing resistance from the party over settlements and the treatment of Palestinians.

Benjamin Netanyahu may want to keep an eye on the House majority.

Democrats are signaling that if they take control of the chamber, their increasingly tense relationship with the Israeli prime minister could turn into something much more consequential.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is pointing specifically to violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank as an issue Democrats intend to address.

“The situation in the West Bank is out of control,” Jeffries told The Hill.

And the pressure is no longer coming exclusively from the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.

Reps. Steny Hoyer and Lois Frankel — both longtime supporters of Israel — have signed onto legislation from Rep. Jerry Nadler that would impose sanctions on foreign nationals responsible for violence or destabilizing activity in the West Bank.

That comes as congressional Democrats have been stepping up pressure on Israel from several directions.

In August, 42 Democratic senators signed a letter urging Netanyahu to rein in settler violence and address the deaths of American citizens in the West Bank.

This month, more than 20 senators also backed a resolution seeking a State Department report on violence and human rights practices there.

And another group of Senate Democrats is pushing sanctions against individuals and organizations involved in Israel’s controversial E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem.

Democrats supporting those efforts maintain that Israel has the right to defend itself, particularly following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

But their patience with Netanyahu’s government over the West Bank appears to be running increasingly thin.

That creates a potentially important dividing line heading into the next Congress.

A Democratic House wouldn’t control American foreign policy.

It would, however, control committees, hearings, subpoenas and which legislation reaches the floor.

And Jeffries is now making clear that Israel’s conduct in the West Bank would be on the agenda.

MY QUICK TAKE

Now this is a political shift worth watching.

Netanyahu has dealt with angry progressives in Washington for years. That’s not new.

Steny Hoyer signing onto sanctions legislation is different.

When politicians who have spent decades standing firmly behind Israel start putting their names on punitive legislation, Netanyahu doesn’t have to wonder whether the mood inside the Democratic Party is changing.

The question is how far it goes if Democrats actually get the gavel.

DBS WIRE SOURCES:

• The Hill — Democrats vow to confront Israel over West Bank violence
• Reuters — Senate Democrats seek sanctions over Israel’s E1 settlement project
• Senate Foreign Relations Committee — Senators seek answers on West Bank violence
• Reuters — Senate Democrats urge Netanyahu to rein in West Bank violence
• Jewish Telegraphic Agency — Democrats seek sanctions tied to E1 settlement project