The U.S. Senate voted 47 to 51 on September 29, 2026, to block a Democratic resolution that would have forced the State Department to report on West Bank violence, including the killings of nine American citizens by Israeli settlers or security forces since 2022. The vote fell largely along party lines, with Republican Rand Paul supporting the measure and Democrat John Fetterman joining Republicans to oppose it. The resolution sought to leverage the Foreign Assistance Act to tie human rights reporting to potential military aid restrictions.
Senate vote to block the resolution
- ▪Senate Republicans blocked Chris Van Hollen's West Bank reporting resolution, arguing that Democrats were seeking to score political points while Israel faces threats from Iranian-backed terrorism
- ▪The United States Senate voted 47 to 51 on September 29, 2026, to block a Democratic resolution requiring the State Department to report on West Bank violence
Key senator votes on the resolution
- ▪Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was the only Republican to vote in favor of Chris Van Hollen's West Bank reporting resolution on September 29, 2026
- ▪Senator John Fetterman joined Senate Republicans to defeat the West Bank reporting resolution, which required 24 Democratic sponsors including Senators Chris Van Hollen, Tim Kaine, and Bernie Sanders
- ▪Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman was the sole Democratic senator to vote against Chris Van Hollen's West Bank reporting resolution on September 29, 2026
Mechanism of the resolution
- ▪While Chris Van Hollen's West Bank reporting resolution did not directly cut military aid to Israel, a failure by the Trump administration to deliver the State Department report could have triggered aid restrictions
- ▪Senator Chris Van Hollen forced the Senate vote on his West Bank reporting resolution under section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act, which permits demanding human rights reports on military aid recipients
Killings of American citizens in the West Bank
- ▪Nine American citizens have been killed by Israeli settlers or security forces in the occupied West Bank since 2022 without resulting in legal accountability
- ▪The blocked Senate resolution led by Chris Van Hollen would have given the State Department 30 days to report on the killings of nine American citizens in the West Bank
- ▪Khamis Ayyad, a 40-year-old from Illinois, died of smoke inhalation after Israeli settlers set fire to cars and homes in the West Bank village of Silwad
- ▪Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old from Florida, was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in July 2025 while visiting family in the West Bank village of Sinjil
Reports on settler violence
- ▪A United Nations report from March 2026 documented 1,732 Israeli settler attacks causing injuries or property damage during the 12 months leading up to October 2025
- ▪Human Rights Watch reported in August 2026 that Israeli settler attacks and settlement expansion had fully or partly displaced 107 Palestinian communities since January 2023
Debatable claims
- ▪Senator John Fetterman's vote against the West Bank reporting resolution was justified
- ▪The Senate's proposed report on West Bank violence is a justified measure of accountability
- ▪The US should condition military aid to Israel on its human rights record
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