US lawmakers urge Rubio to act against West Bank settlement expansion

Two Democratic members of the US House of Representatives have led an appeal to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging the Trump administration to use all available diplomatic and legal tools to prevent further Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, particularly in the controversial E1 area.

Representative Mark Pocan said the United States should use its influence to act immediately.

“As the world’s most powerful country, we need to use our leverage to act now,” he said.

The E1 corridor lies between occupied East Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, and critics argue that large-scale development there would further undermine the possibility of a contiguous future Palestinian state.

Today, @janSchakowsky & I led 85 of our colleagues in calling on @SecRubio to use every diplomatic tool available to stop imminent Israeli settlement construction in the E-1 area of the West Bank.

Israeli settlements in E-1 would be a clear annexation effort, dividing the West… pic.twitter.com/4RKh8jBohz

— Rep. Mark Pocan (@RepMarkPocan) June 5, 2026