Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic-led resolution that would have required the Trump administration to report to Congress on violence and alleged human rights abuses in the West Bank, including the deaths of nine American citizens in recent years.
A motion to bring S.Res. 852 out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee failed 47-51 on Tuesday, preventing the full Senate from considering the resolution. Two senators did not vote.
The vote fell almost entirely along party lines.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the only Democrat to oppose advancing the resolution, while Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., broke with Republicans and supported it. Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) did not vote.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., led the effort alongside Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and other Democratic senators.
The resolution was introduced under Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which allows Congress to request information about the human rights practices of countries receiving U.S. security assistance.
If approved, the measure would have required the State Department to provide an unclassified report to Congress within 30 days.
The report would have addressed investigations into American citizens killed by Israeli settlers or Israeli security forces in the West Bank, the treatment of Americans detained there and broader human rights conditions, including the detention of Palestinian children.
Supporters say nine Americans have been killed in the West Bank since 2022.
Van Hollen argued that Washington has failed to secure adequate accountability for their deaths despite repeatedly identifying protection of Americans overseas as a top government responsibility.
“How many more Americans must die in the West Bank before this administration takes serious, credible steps to secure accountability?” Van Hollen said before the vote.
Among the Americans whose deaths have drawn congressional attention is Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was fatally shot while reporting on an Israeli military operation in Jenin in May 2022.
The Israeli military ultimately acknowledged there was a “high possibility” Abu Akleh was accidentally struck by Israeli gunfire, while maintaining there was no intention to target a journalist.
Another case involves 26-year-old Turkish American activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, who was fatally shot during a West Bank protest in September 2024. Israel said its preliminary investigation indicated she was likely struck unintentionally by Israeli military fire.
More recently, 20-year-old Palestinian American Sayfollah Musallet of Florida was killed during violence involving Israeli settlers near the village of Sinjil in July 2025. His family has demanded an independent U.S. investigation.
The resolution would not have immediately ended American military assistance to Israel.
However, Section 502B provides Congress with mechanisms for restricting security assistance if the executive branch fails to provide a requested human rights report. That potential consequence helped make the measure more significant than a conventional congressional request for information.
Republicans opposing the resolution argued that it unfairly targeted Israel at a time when the country continues confronting security threats from Iran and Iran-backed organizations.
Supporters countered that requesting information about the deaths of American citizens should be separate from the broader political debate over U.S. support for Israel.
The vote comes amid heightened scrutiny of violence in the West Bank, where confrontations involving Israeli settlers, Palestinians and Israeli security forces have intensified.
It also highlights widening divisions in Congress over U.S. policy toward Israel.
Republican lawmakers have generally resisted efforts that could restrict or condition American military assistance, while a growing number of Democratic senators have called for greater scrutiny of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the West Bank.
Tuesday’s vote means the Trump administration will not be required under S.Res. 852 to produce the requested report.
But with 47 senators voting to advance the measure, the issue is likely to remain part of the congressional debate over U.S. aid to Israel and Washington’s response when American citizens are killed or detained in the West Bank.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
