With J Street backing, 26 Democrats introduce legislation to impose wide-ranging conditions on aid to Israel
The ‘Ceasefire Compliance Act’ would require continued verification that Israel is not striking in Gaza, without exceptions for operations in response to Hamas’ violations
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Protect Borrowers
Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) speaks on Capitol Hill on February 09, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) and 25 Democratic co-sponsors introduced a bill on Monday that would implement wide-ranging new conditions and restrictions on U.S. aid to Israel.
The Ceasefire Compliance Act would require the administration to assess and report to Congress every 90 days on whether Israel is complying with the October 2025 ceasefire agreement in Gaza, including halting military operations and bombing campaigns.
The legislation does not appear to contain exceptions for the strikes Israel has taken in retaliation for Hamas’ own violations of the ceasefire deal, nor mention its targeting of individual Hamas leaders.
Under the terms of the legislation, if Israel does not meet the conditions included in the law, the U.S. would be banned from selling or transferring any U.S. military systems to Israel for use in Gaza or the West Bank, any further transfers would be subject to a specific agreement by Israel that the weapons would not be used in Gaza or the West Bank and the administration would be required to reach an agreement with Israel that U.S.-origin systems already in Israel’s possession would also be banned from use in Gaza or the West Bank.
Those restrictions would remain in effect until Israel is in compliance with all conditions. The legislation establishes an end-use monitoring group within the administration to monitor whether U.S.-provided systems are in use in Gaza or the West Bank.
The legislation includes language guaranteeing that U.S. defensive assistance to and intelligence sharing with Israel, as well as provision of missile-defense systems to Israel, are exempt from the conditions. The bill would sunset after five years.
Other conditions would require Israel to work to implement President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan; allow humanitarian aid into Gaza; cooperate in the establishment of a temporary Palestinian government and ultimately a Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank; take “material steps” to prevent settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank; and ban any forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, annexation of Gaza or “de facto or de jure annexation” of any part of the West Bank.
The Israeli government, and a broad swath of Israeli society, oppose the establishment of a Palestinian Authority government in Gaza given the group’s ongoing payments to the families of terrorists, among a raft of other concerns.
“As one of the United States’ most important allies, Israel must ensure that its policies and the use of U.S. military assistance align with American values, interests, and the law,” Casten said in a statement. “That starts with requiring compliance with the October 10, 2025, ceasefire agreement and the steps laid out in the 20-point plan, curbing settler violence, and rejecting annexation in the West Bank.”
The legislation includes a limited presidential waiver of the conditions for transfers and sales “vital to the national security of the United States.” The president would be required to provide a detailed justification to Congress 15 days before invoking such a waiver explaining why it is necessary and unavoidable.
“This bill redefines the system of US military aid to Israel, transforming it from a blank check to an accountability-based system that advances US strategic interests in the Middle East, aligns with American values, enhances Israel’s security, and protects Palestinian civilians,” a release by Casten’s office about the bill states. “Through thorough oversight and tough enforcement mechanisms, it makes clear that actions undermining shared U.S. and Israeli interests and values will have consequences.”
The bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Becca Balint (D-VT), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Ro Khanna (D-CA), John Garamendi (D-CA), Don Beyer (D-VA), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Valerie Foushee (D-NC), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Derek Tran (D-CA), Emily Randall (D-WA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Mark Takano (D-CA), Troy Carter (D-LA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Joaquin Castro (D-TX).
The legislation also includes specific language emphasizing that the administration has no authority to transfer U.S. funds to the Board of Peace — after Trump pledged a $10 billion U.S. commitment last week — or to provide the Board of Peace with authorities that “[supersede] the role or authorities of the United Nations.”
One source familiar with the situation told Jewish Insider that J Street, which is backing the bill alongside New Jewish Narrative and Foreign Policy for America, is making the legislation its top priority. The group is holding a conference in Washington later this month.
“The Ceasefire Compliance Act puts into law the common sense principle that American weapons cannot be used by the Israeli government in Gaza and the West Bank in ways that fundamentally violate American values and directly contravene U.S. interests,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement. “US assistance — whether aid or arms — should never come as a blank check. The CCA will ensure the Israeli government is held to agreements it has signed and abides by the ceasefire, allows a Palestinian governing council to take control of Gaza, and cannot annex the West Bank.”
Though the bill is unlikely to pass Congress under Republican control, it could provide a model for Democrats critical of Israel shy of the terms of the Block the Bombs Act and other efforts to impose a full offensive arms embargo on the Jewish state.
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