A progressive US congresswoman introduced a bill that would condition US aid to Israel on Thursday. Rep. Betty McCollum’s legislation reflects an increasingly active and vocal group of progressive Democrats espousing pro-Palestinian positions on the conflict and was criticized by a leading pro-Israel group. 

The Minnesota Democrat’s bill is named “Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act.” The legislation would prohibit US government funds sent to Israel from supporting the following: Military detention and interrogation of Palestinian children; seizing Palestinian property; forced population transfers in the Palestinian Territory the West Bank; and anything that would “facilitate or support further unilateral annexation” of the West Bank into Israel.

McCollum’s bill is one of several recent examples where Democrats have been taking aim at Israeli policies toward Palestinians. Last year, Massachusetts congressional candidate Alex Morse campaigned to condition US aid to Israel. The 2020 Democratic Party platform explicitly condemned then-Israeli plans to incorporate the West Bank into Israel via annexation. Several congressional Democrats have also criticized Israel for not initially vaccinating Palestinians against COVID-19 at the same time as Israeli citizens. 

The pro-Palestinian shift accelerated last summer with the Black Lives Matter protests throughout the United States, as many activists alleged a connection between US police killings of Black people and Israeli police trainings.