Senate edges closer to vote on Israeli accountability for US citizens killed in West Bank, Democrat says Yasmine El-Sabawi on Thu, 09/24/2026 - 20:40 Nine US citizens have been killed by Israelis in the occupied West Bank over the last four years US Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks during a forum on President Donald Trump's crypto dealings, co-hosted by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) in the Dirksen Senate Office in Washington, DC, on 27 July 2026 (Finn Gomez/Getty Images/AFP) Off Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said on Thursday that a vote on holding Israel accountable for the killings of nine US citizens in the occupied West Bank, as well as the imprisonment of three others, could take place as soon as next week. Van Hollen, a vocal supporter of Palestinian rights and curbing US aid to Israel, introduced Senate Resolution 852 earlier this month, pursuant to Section 502(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act, which allows lawmakers to request human rights reports from the State Department on countries that receive US assistance. Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign aid, with $3.3bn received in 2025. Speaking to the IMEU Policy Project in a virtual session on Thursday, Van Hollen said he was optimistic given that 24 Democratic senators are already on board. "These are Democratic senators who have put their names on the resolution, which is definitely progress from where we were two years ago when fighting for human rights for Palestinians, whether in Gaza or the West Bank, [it] was a lonely effort," he said. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); "This vote is likely to come up early next week. It's what's called a privileged resolution, meaning that after a certain amount of time elapses from its introduction, it can be brought up for a vote," he noted. Privileged resolutions can bypass other business because they command urgency in the interest of accountability for the American public. If the vote does not take place next week, it will have to wait until after the 3 November midterm elections, Van Hollen said. He urged Americans to ramp up their calls and emails to their senators in the coming days. "We're at a moment where we see growing recognition throughout the public that is slowly filtering up and slowly having an impact on the bubble that is the United States Congress, and so I think that this is a moment where we can use the fact that American citizens are not getting accountability and justice to shine the light on the fact that Palestinian children and others in the West Bank are subjected to these kinds of abuses every single day," Van Hollen told the IMEU Policy Project. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The key obstacle to his resolution, he added, is that "not a single Republican senator is willing to stand up and demand justice for these American citizens". The 100-member Senate is currently made up of 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats. In a tied result, Republican Vice President JD Vance would cast the tie-breaking vote. Letter to Netanyahu Last month, 45 Senate Democrats signed a letter addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging his "personal and direct engagement and intervention in order to protect our constituents and their families". "The last few weeks alone saw a significant surge in violence on both sides, resulting in a large-scale response by Israeli security forces, mass arrests of Palestinians, and reported attacks by settlers on mosques,” the senators wrote of the occupied West Bank. Israeli settlers kill another teenaged US citizen in occupied West Bank Read More » “We urge you to take measures to prevent and intercede in this violence, establish a credible mechanism to investigate violations of law, and to make clear that the Government of Israel will not tolerate violence by its people, just as it does not tolerate violence against its people," the letter added. The senators called for Israel to complete its own investigations into the deaths of the nine US citizens. Many of them became high-profile cases, yet Washington never demanded independent investigations outside of the Israeli military's purview. Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh appeared to have been targeted by Israeli forces in 2022 when she was shot in the head. Activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi was killed by Israeli forces during a protest against the building of illegal settlements near Nablus in 2024. Ice cream shop worker Sayfollah Musallet was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in 2025. Israeli attacks by both the military and settler groups in the occupied West Bank have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians over the past three years. US-Israel relations Washington News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said on Thursday that a vote on holding Israel accountable for the killings of nine US citizens in the occupied West Bank, as well as the imprisonment of three others, could take place as soon as next week.
Van Hollen, a vocal supporter of Palestinian rights and curbing US aid to Israel, introduced Senate Resolution 852 earlier this month, pursuant to Section 502(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act, which allows lawmakers to request human rights reports from the State Department on countries that receive US assistance.
Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign aid, with $3. 3bn received in 2025.
Speaking to the IMEU Policy Project in a virtual session on Thursday, Van Hollen said he was optimistic given that 24 Democratic senators are already on board.
"These are Democratic senators who have put their names on the resolution, which is definitely progress from where we were two years ago when fighting for human rights for Palestinians, whether in Gaza or the West Bank, [it] was a lonely effort," he said.
"This vote is likely to come up early next week. It's what's called a privileged resolution, meaning that after a certain amount of time elapses from its introduction, it can be brought up for a vote," he noted.
Privileged resolutions can bypass other business because they command urgency in the interest of accountability for the American public.
If the vote does not take place next week, it will have to wait until after the 3 November midterm elections, Van Hollen said.
He urged Americans to ramp up their calls and emails to their senators in the coming days.
"We're at a moment where we see growing recognition throughout the public that is slowly filtering up and slowly having an impact on the bubble that is the United States Congress, and so I think that this is a moment where we can use the fact that American citizens are not getting accountability and justice to shine the light on the fact that Palestinian children and others in the West Bank are subjected to these kinds of abuses every single day," Van Hollen told the IMEU Policy Project.
The key obstacle to his resolution, he added, is that "not a single Republican senator is willing to stand up and demand justice for these American citizens".
The 100-member Senate is currently made up of 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats.
In a tied result, Republican Vice President JD Vance would cast the tie-breaking vote.
Last month, 45 Senate Democrats signed a letter addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging his "personal and direct engagement and intervention in order to protect our constituents and their families".
"The last few weeks alone saw a significant surge in violence on both sides, resulting in a large-scale response by Israeli security forces, mass arrests of Palestinians, and reported attacks by settlers on mosques,” the senators wrote of the occupied West Bank.
“We urge you to take measures to prevent and intercede in this violence, establish a credible mechanism to investigate violations of law, and to make clear that the Government of Israel will not tolerate violence by its people, just as it does not tolerate violence against its people," the letter added.
The senators called for Israel to complete its own investigations into the deaths of the nine US citizens.
Many of them became high-profile cases, yet Washington never demanded independent investigations outside of the Israeli military's purview.
Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh appeared to have been targeted by Israeli forces in 2022 when she was shot in the head. Activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi was killed by Israeli forces during a protest against the building of illegal settlements near Nablus in 2024. Ice cream shop worker Sayfollah Musallet was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in 2025.
Israeli attacks by both the military and settler groups in the occupied West Bank have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians over the past three years.
