The Senate blocked a resolution Tuesday that would have required the Trump administration to provide Congress with information about escalating violence in the West Bank, including investigations into the deaths of nine Americans since 2022.
The measure failed to advance in a 47-51 procedural vote that fell largely along party lines. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to oppose moving forward with the resolution, while Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only Republican to support it.
The resolution, S.Res. 852, was led by Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Tim Kaine of Virginia, along with independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. More than 20 senators ultimately backed the effort.
The measure would have required the State Department to submit a report to Congress examining ‘human rights conditions’ in the West Bank and providing information about investigations into Americans allegedly killed by Israeli settlers or Israeli security forces.
Republicans opposing the measure argued that it was inappropriate to target Israel while the country remains involved in a broader regional conflict. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., urged senators to reject the resolution and “stand with our ally Israel as they beat back the scourge of Iranian-backed terrorism.”
Nine Americans have been killed in the West Bank since 2022, according to the resolution’s sponsors. The cases include several that have received significant attention in the United States. One was 20-year-old Sayfollah Musallet of Tampa, Florida, who was killed in July 2025 while visiting family in the West Bank village of Sinjil. His family said Israeli settlers beat him and prevented emergency workers from reaching him.
Weeks later, 40-year-old American citizen Khamis Ayyad died from smoke inhalation after settlers allegedly set fire to vehicles and property in the village of Silwad. Two 17-year-old Palestinian Americans, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar and Mohammad Khdour, were fatally shot in separate incidents in early 2024.
The cases cited by lawmakers also include Turkish American activist Ay?enur Ezgi Eygi, 26, who was fatally shot by Israeli troops during a West Bank protest in September 2024. The Israeli military said an initial investigation found it was “highly likely” Eygi was struck unintentionally by Israeli fire directed at what the military described as an instigator during a violent disturbance.
Other deaths identified by lawmakers include Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was fatally shot while covering an Israeli military operation in Jenin in 2022, and Omar Assad, a 78-year-old Palestinian American who died after being detained by Israeli soldiers.
Supporters of the Senate resolution argued the U.S. government has an obligation to determine what happened when American citizens are killed overseas, though most Republicans saw it as a ‘gotcha’ effort to force the Trump administration into harming its relations with Israel.
Van Hollen said after Tuesday’s vote that Congress has a responsibility to ensure countries receiving U.S. taxpayer money operate consistently with American laws. The resolution was introduced under Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. That provision gives Congress a mechanism to seek information about human rights practices in countries receiving U.S. security assistance.
The measure would have required the State Department to produce its report within 30 days. It would not have immediately suspended or reduced American assistance to Israel. However, the Foreign Assistance Act provides mechanisms through which failure to comply with reporting requirements can lead Congress to consider restrictions on security assistance.
The vote comes amid growing debate in Congress over U.S. policy toward Israel. Several Democratic senators have pushed for greater scrutiny of American military assistance over Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the West Bank, while most Republicans have resisted attempts to condition or restrict aid.
The West Bank has been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements there illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.
In August, Van Hollen, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other lawmakers separately urged the Trump administration to conduct independent investigations into all nine American deaths and take stronger action against violent settlers.
