US Senate blocks Democrat-backed probe of Israel

Senate Republicans block measure backed by Democrats requiring State Department investigation of Israel, Judea and Samaria.

By World Israel News Staff

Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked a Democratic-backed measure that would have required the State Department to produce a detailed report on Israel’s human rights record and violence involving Americans and Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, according to Politico.

The measure was defeated 51-47.

All Republicans who participated in the vote except Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted against advancing it, while Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to oppose it. Paul joined the remaining Democrats in support.

Introduced by Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Tim Kaine of Virginia and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the resolution invoked Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act, a rarely used provision allowing Congress to demand a human rights assessment of a country receiving US security assistance.

Had the measure passed, the Trump administration would have been required to submit a report within 30 days addressing Israeli human rights practices in Judea and Samaria, including investigations into the deaths of American citizens allegedly killed by Israeli security personnel or Israeli civilians.

Failure by the administration to provide the report could have triggered restrictions on some US security assistance to Israel.

After receiving the report, Congress would also have been able to consider further action concerning military aid.

Van Hollen said the measure was intended in part to obtain answers about nine Americans who senators say have been killed in Judea and Samaria since 2022 without sufficient accountability.

“This Administration has said ensuring the safety and security of American citizens abroad is one of its highest priorities,” Van Hollen said when introducing the resolution.

“And yet, as we’ve seen violence rise in the West Bank, American citizens have been killed time and again, and they have received no justice and no accountability,” he said.

Van Hollen argued that Congress had a responsibility to determine whether countries receiving American assistance were complying with US laws and values.

“This resolution will require the State Department to begin to produce these answers, which are owed to the families of those who have lost loved ones, to the American people, and to all of those who want to ensure recipients of U.S. taxpayer dollars are acting in line with our laws and our values,” he said.

Kaine similarly said the proposal was intended to force a formal assessment of violence and accountability in Judea and Samaria.

“Friends need to listen to each other,” Kaine said, arguing that Israeli authorities should take stronger action against violent Israelis and protect both Palestinians and American citizens.

Sanders went considerably further, accusing Israel of allowing attacks on Palestinians to go unpunished.

“Every day, Palestinians in the West Bank experience horrific violence at the hands of Israeli settlers and security forces — and for years, the Israeli government has offered impunity instead of accountability,” Sanders said when the resolution was introduced.

“Enough is enough. The United States cannot keep bankrolling this violence and looking the other way,” he added.

Republicans opposed the measure, arguing that it unfairly targeted Israel, one of Washington’s closest allies, at a time of continuing regional security threats.

The vote nevertheless demonstrated the extent to which congressional Democratic attitudes toward Israel have shifted in recent years.

Twenty-three senators initially sponsored the resolution, but nearly the entire Democratic caucus ultimately backed advancing it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York was among those voting in favor.

That represented a substantial change from a similar effort in January 2024, when Sanders attempted to use the same section of the Foreign Assistance Act to demand a State Department report on Israeli military operations in Gaza. Only 11 senators supported that resolution at the time.