Yes, the U.S. Senate voted 47–51 on September 29, 2026, to block a resolution that would have required a formal State Department report and accounting regarding the killings of nine American citizens by Israeli security forces or settlers in the occupied West Bank. [1, 2, 3]
Details of the Vote and Resolution
- The Measure: Senators voted on a motion to discharge S. Res. 852 from committee, introduced by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) alongside Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). [1, 2, 3]
- What it Required: The resolution invoked Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. It mandated the State Department to submit a report within 30 days detailing what the U.S. government knows about the 2022–present deaths of nine U.S. citizens in the West Bank, actions taken to hold perpetrators accountable, and broader human rights conditions, which could have triggered security aid restrictions if left unfulfilled. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
- The Count: The procedural motion failed 47 to 51, falling largely along party lines. [1, 2]
- Party Breakdown: Every voting Republican opposed the measure except Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), while nearly every Democrat supported it except Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), who voted with the opposing majority. Both independents caucusing with Democrats voted in favor. [1, 2]
The Nine Americans Cited
The resolution highlighted nine U.S. citizens killed in the West Bank since January 2022, noting a lack of local accountability or independent U.S. justice: [1, 2, 3]
- Shireen Abu Akleh
- Aysenur Ezgi Eygi
- Sayfollah Kamel Musallet
- Tawfic Abdel Jabbar
- Mohammad Khdour
- Amer Mohammad Saada Rabee
- Omar Assad
- Khamis Ayyad
- Nasrallah Abu Siyam [1, 2, 3]
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