The Senate rejected a resolution Tuesday that would have required the State Department to account for the deaths of nine Americans in the occupied West Bank and report on wider human rights abuses in the territory.
The measure failed 51-47, with every Republican except U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) voting to block it. Every Democrat except U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) supported the resolution.
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who introduced the measure with Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), said the Americans killed in the West Bank had received “no justice and no accountability” from either the Israeli or U.S. government.
“It’s past time we get answers on their deaths—and on the growing violent Israeli settler attacks and the injustices Palestinians in the West Bank face on a daily basis,” Van Hollen said.
Tonight, 47 Senators supported my resolution to get accountability for the 9 Americans killed on the West Bank & for Palestinians who face injustices daily. That’s more support than we’ve ever had in this fight.
Republicans blocked us, but we won’t stop until we get justice.
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) September 30, 2026
[NOTE: The resolution would have required the State Department to give Congress a full accounting of the deaths and reveal the status of any Israeli investigation concerning them. It did not call for an immediate end to Israeli aid, but contained the contingency that if the State Department failed to comply, most U.S. security assistance to Israel risked being suspended.]
It also sought information on settler violence, the treatment of Palestinians by Israeli security forces and the detention of Palestinian children.
U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) said the resolution’s “sole objective” was “not justice or accountability for Americans; it is to cut off security aid to our ally Israel in its time of need.”
“Of course, any loss, all loss, of American life is a tragedy,” Daines said, pointing to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee’s call for an investigation. “But this one-sided resolution shames one of our strongest allies and minimizes the Palestinian Authority’s role in inciting terrorist violence.”
Daines urged senators to oppose the measure so the United States could “stand with our ally Israel as they beat back the scourge of Iranian-backed terrorism.”
Van Hollen said the defeated resolution would have given the families of the nine Americans information they have sought for years.
“It is our responsibility to ensure recipients of U.S. taxpayer dollars act in line with our laws and our values,” Van Hollen said after the vote. “This resolution was an opportunity to shed light on a reality that flies in the face of that principle.”