Senate blocks Democratic effort to force report on West Bank violence

US Senate Republicans have blocked a Democratic resolution that would have required the Trump administration to report on violence and human rights violations in the occupied West Bank. The resolution, led by Democrat Chris Van Hollen, aimed to force the State Department to report on the killings of nine American citizens by Israeli settlers or security forces since 2022, as well as wider human rights conditions in the territory.

The resolution failed to advance by a vote of 47 to 51, with Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman, a Democrat, joining Republicans in voting against it, while Kentucky Republican Rand Paul voted in favor. The measure had 24 Democratic sponsors, including Bernie Sanders and Jeanne Shaheen.

According to The Guardian US, the resolution would have given the State Department 30 days to report to Congress on the deaths and human rights conditions in the West Bank, including Israel's detention of Palestinian children. The effort was made under section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act, a law that allows senators to demand human rights reports on countries receiving US military aid.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Hill, Al-Monitor, The Guardian US — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.