Israeli Settlers Kill Third US Citizen in A Year | Palestine Policy Roundup 02.23.26
Welcome to the Palestine Policy Roundup, a weekly publication of the IMEU Policy Project.
👀 ICYMI: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT
Rep. Rashida Tlaib: “Free Leqaa Kordia! ICE targeted her for speaking out against genocide and detained her for nearly a year in abysmal conditions as her health deteriorated. A judge has ordered her release twice. She must be released.”
Rep. Delia Ramirez: “From Gaza to the West Bank, Netanyahu and the Israeli government seek total control of Palestinian lands. They do not care about the international laws they break or the Palestinian lives they take. We have to assert our authority, demand an end to imperialistic expansion and settler violence, and put a stop the military support. Oversight is needed and that starts by passing Block the Bombs Act. Not one more bomb!”
Rep. Summer Lee: “People like Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Kordia continue to be persecuted for speaking out against the genocide. I was glad to meet with Mahmoud to hear updates on his and Leqaa's cases and see pictures of his newborn, Deen. We need justice and freedom for Mahmoud, Leqaa, and every other student targeted by our institutions for exercising their rights.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen: “State Department leaders often say their first priority is the safety of US citizens abroad, and yet they fail repeatedly to uphold that commitment when it comes to US citizens harmed or killed in the West Bank. have serious concerns about this latest killing of a 19-year-old Palestinian-American. When a US citizen is killed abroad, there must be an impartial investigation and accountability.”
DC DEVELOPMENTS
🌐 TRUMP HOSTS MEETING OF CORPORATE-STYLE GAZA BOARD
Last Thursday, President Trump hosted the inaugural meeting of his personally led, corporate-style board where he once again laid out his vision for his takeover of Gaza.
📖 LEARN MORE about Trump’s corporate takeover plan in our latest policy memo.
TRUMP-CONTROLLED SLUSH FUND: World Bank President Ajay Banga announced a slush fund housed by the institution but controlled by Trump’s board, which he personally leads and over which he has full control.
Trump would control $7 billion in contributions made by Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Several of these countries have troubling human rights records, like much of the rest of the countries on the board.
He pledged that the US will be contributing $10 billion to his board–without naming where the money will come from. Congress has not appropriated this funding, and the pledge would likely violate Congress’s power of the purse if it comes from the US Treasury.
VULTURE-LIKE VISION: Trump’s control over this World Bank-sanctioned fund will further entrench his control over Gaza’s economic future and all but ensure that he can continue his economic self-dealing at the expense of the well-being of Palestinians.
Several contractors are reportedly attempting to make super profits from Trump’s takeover plan. Trump’s full control of this fund will enable him to ensure that he and his allies are the ones who benefit from these deals.
Among the contractors talking with Trump’s board about a role in Gaza is UG Solutions–the private military contractor responsible for shooting and killing Palestinians who were seeking food at sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
In another open display of the board’s vulture-like vision for Gaza, the AIPAC-connected private equity CEO and Executive Board member Marc Rowan touted the economic value of its coastline while saying nothing about the planned displacement of Palestinians from their homes.
MULTINATIONAL FORCE TAKES SHAPE: Trump also announced that the so-called International Stabilization Force, tasked with policing Palestinians who will be placed in high-tech ghettos envisioned in Trump’s takeover plan, is taking shape.
Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania will send soldiers to join the multinational force. The force is expected to comprise 20,000 soldiers, up to 8,000 of whom will be from Indonesia alone.
This multinational force is to be helmed by Major General Jasper Jeffers–who is a US Special Operations Command leader. It’s not clear whether Major General Jeffers is taking on this role as part of his duties with the US military, but his involvement raises serious constitutional questions since Trump has not asked Congress for an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) in Gaza.
The Trump administration is also planning to build a 5,000-person, 350 acre military base within Gaza for the intended use of the multinational force. This will further entrench the military occupation of Gaza by foreign powers, including Israel and the US. Trump does not have the consent of Palestinians to build a military base on their land.
UNDERMINING THE UN: During his speech, Trump also expanded on his vision for the future of the UN, proposing that one day his board will oversee the international institution. Trump has repeatedly suggested that his board could replace the UN.
IN THE NEWS
🛑 WHY CONGRESS MUST STOP LATEST ISRAEL WEAPONS DEAL
Earlier this month, IMEU Policy Project Policy Director Josh Ruebner published an op-ed calling on Congress to stop the Trump administration from delivering nearly $7 billion in weapons to Israel as its violations of Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza continue. Congress must assert its authority over this weapons package following the Trump administration’s circumventing of Congressional oversight.
💡 POLICY ASK: Members of Congress should introduce, cosponsor, and vote for Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD’s) to block this weapons package and assert Congressional oversight authority over weapons transfers.
📖LEARN MORE about the need to block this weapons package and how Israel has used these weapons in its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and violent occupation of the West Bank in our recent policy memo.
🎉 STUDENTS SUPPORTING PALESTINIAN RIGHTS WIN IN IMMIGRATION COURTS
Over the last month, deportation proceedings filed against Dr. Rümeysa Öztürk and Mohsen Mahdawi in response to their speech and activism in support of Palestinian rights have been blocked by immigration judges. This is another crucial win in the fight against President Trump’s assault on support for Palestinian rights and speech.
KEY WINS: In Öztürk’s case, an immigration judge ruled that the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary of State Marco Rubio failed to prove that she was removable from the US. In Mahdawi’s case, the federal government’s own sloppy work has sunk its efforts to deport him, offering a rebuke of the Trump administration’s rushed deportation efforts.
In both cases, the federal government has the right to appeal these rulings. Therefore, the fight to protect Öztürk and Mahdawi is not yet over.
These rulings were handed down by immigration judges in immigration courts, which operate under the Department of Justice and are subject to control by the Executive Branch. That makes these victories even more notable.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: In response to the ruling in his case, Mahdawi said: “This decision is an important step towards upholding what fear tried to destroy: the right to speak for peace and justice. Nearly a year ago, I was detained at my citizenship interview not for breaking the law but for speaking against the genocide of Palestinians. In a climate where dissent is increasingly met with intimidation and detention, today’s ruling renews hope that due process still applies and that no agency stands above the Constitution. This is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of a deeper commitment to peace, dignity, and justice; work I will continue, fearlessly and without apology.”
🏛️ WHAT CONGRESS CAN DO: Members of Congress should continue to speak out against President Trump’s assault on speech in support of Palestinian rights and demand that his administration end its targeting and deportations of students and activists for exercising their First Amendment rights.
MAHMOUD AND LEQAA’S CASES REMAIN: While these victories affirm the rights of speech and activism in support of Palestinian freedom, this speech is still under attack by the Trump administration. These victories should lead to the dropping of all spurious charges against Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Kordia.
While Khalil was freed from ICE detention by a federal court, he is still fighting deportation in immigration court. Earlier this year, an appeals court overturned the federal court ruling that freed him from ICE detention pending the end of his immigration proceedings. That ruling exposes him and possibly other immigrants fighting deportation, such as Kilmar Abrego Garcia, to the whims of the Trump DOJ.
Meanwhile, ICE continues to detain Leqaa Kordia, a supporter of Palestinian rights who was targeted as a result of her activism outside of Columbia University. Following a recent seizure, she was chained to a hospital bed as ICE kept her lawyers and family in the dark about her whereabouts and condition.
PALESTINE/ISRAEL DEVELOPMENTS
🚨 ISRAELI SETTLERS KILL ANOTHER AMERICAN IN WEST BANK
Last Wednesday, 19-year-old Nasrallah Abu Siyam was shot and killed by an Israeli settler in the West Bank. Abu Siyam was a Palestinian-American and US citizen; he is the third US citizen to be killed by Israeli settlers in less than a year.
CALLS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY: Nasrallah’s family has reportedly called for holding accountable the Israeli settlers who killed him.
MILITARY SUPPORTED SETTLERS: According to an eyewitness to Nasrallah's killing, the Israeli settlers were emboldened and began shooting after the Israeli military began firing tear gas and live ammunition at Palestinians.
The witness also claimed that settlers were beating Palestinians who were injured and had fallen to the ground.
This eyewitness account also demonstrates the Israeli military’s role in escalating settler attacks against Palestinians, which shows the need for stronger US responses against them. Read more about the need for such responses in our recently published policy memo.
ANOTHER AMERICAN: Nasrallah’s killing follows that of Sayfollah Musallet, who was beaten to death as he attempted to protect his family’s land during a settler attack last July. Weeks later, Khamis Ayyad was killed by smoke inhalation following a settler arson attack on his town.
✂️ ISRAEL LAUNCHES MEASURES AIMED AT WEST BANK ANNEXATION
Over the last month, Israel has moved aggressively to facilitate its annexation of Palestinian land in the West Bank. Recently imposed measures not only violate international law but also are aimed at ending the possibility of Palestinian self-determination and sovereignty in the West Bank.
BREAKING OSLO: Israel’s new measures allow it to destroy Palestinian homes and seize more Palestinian land in Areas A and B, which under the Oslo Accords are supposed to be subject to semi-autonomous rule by the Palestinian Authority.
Specifically, the measure will allow Israel to illegally seize Palestinian land under the pretext of archaeological preservation and environmental protection. Israel is already using the pretext of archaeological preservation for its largest ever land grabs in Sebastia. This new measure threatens to tighten Israel’s grip over that area and extend it to all of the West Bank.
Israel will also begin to register land in Area C–the 60% of the West Bank which remains under full Israeli rule–as state land if Palestinians cannot prove that they own it. Many Palestinians who own land in these areas do not possess the documents Israel will require to prove ownership. This is an intentional structural barrier aimed at speeding up the seizure of Palestinian land.
These measures will rapidly intensify Israel’s theft of land and expansion of its illegal settlement enterprise in the West Bank, paving the way to formally annex what is already a de facto annexation.
SETTLER-STATE COLLABORATION: Other measures imposed by the Israeli cabinet will make it easier for Israeli settlers to harass and attack Palestinians who own land in the West Bank by making land registry records public.
By making Palestinians who own land in the West Bank easier to identify through this change, Israel is opening the door for settlers to extort, pressure, or entrap Palestinians into selling their land to them.
Photo: Jose HERNANDEZ Camera 51, via Shutterstock. Stock Photo ID: 2736453745