{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-and-murphy-join-senators-in-introducing-privileged-resolution-seeking-answers-on-west-bank-violence", "Blumenthal & Murphy Join Senators in Introducing Privileged Resolution Seeking Answers on West Bank Violence", "2026-09-16", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "CT", "Richard Blumenthal", "B001277", "www.blumenthal.senate.gov", "blumenthal", "https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press", "scraper", "[WASHINGTON, D.C.] \u2013 U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) today joined U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in introducing a 502B privileged resolution requiring the Department of State to report to Congress on increasing violence in the West Bank, including the killings of Americans in the West Bank.\n\nNine Americans have been killed in the West Bank in recent years \u2013 and more detained \u2013 and none have received accountability or justice from either the Israeli or United States Governments. The Senators\u2019 resolution would require the Department of State to provide information and assessments related to investigations of the killing of United States citizens by violent Israeli settlers or Israeli security forces in the West Bank, as well as an assessment of the human rights situation in the West Bank, specifically related to the detention of Palestinian children.\n\n\u201cViolent, lethal lawlessness on the West Bank is a betrayal of Israel\u2019s moral standing and our shared values, and must be stopped. This resolution is now necessary, after so many have urged action and violence only continues to rise. Failing to enforce clear legal prohibitions and protections has cost American and Palestinian lives \u2013 and deeply threatens a peaceful, stable future for all Israelis and Palestinians,\u201d said Senator Blumenthal.\n\n\u201cExtremist settlers in the West Bank are wielding violence at unprecedented levels and with near total impunity from the Netanyahu government,\u201d said Senator Murphy. \u201cTheir actions have killed American citizens and innocent Palestinians, and the United States must make clear that this unchecked violence is unacceptable and must end immediately.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis Administration has said ensuring the safety and security of American citizens abroad is one of its highest priorities. And yet, as we\u2019ve seen violence rise in the West Bank, American citizens have been killed time and again, and they have received no justice and no accountability. It\u2019s past time we get answers on their deaths \u2013 and on the growing violent Israeli settler attacks and the injustices Palestinians in the West Bank face on a daily basis. 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,\u201d said Senator Van Hollen.\n\n\u201cThe violence committed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank is reaching an unprecedented level, and as a result more and more Americans and Palestinians are being killed and injured. These actions\u2014and the Israeli government\u2019s lack of response to this violence\u2014are unacceptable and threaten the long-term safety and security of the entire region,\u201d said Senator Kaine. \u201cFriends need to listen to each other, and my colleagues and I have repeatedly urged Israeli leaders to take firmer action to curtail illegal settlements in the West Bank, prosecute violent settlers, and protect Palestinian residents as well as American citizens living in or visiting the West Bank. I encourage all of my colleagues to support this resolution to require the State Department to conduct a formal assessment and provide a report to Congress on the situation in the West Bank, in particular the safety and security of Americans.\u201d\n\n\u201cEvery day, Palestinians in the West Bank experience horrific violence at the hands of Israeli settlers and security forces \u2014 and for years, the Israeli government has offered impunity instead of accountability. Enough is enough. The United States cannot keep bankrolling this violence and looking the other way \u2014 it\u2019s time to end our complicity, once and for all,\u201d said Senator Sanders.\n\nThe resolution draws upon Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act, which allows Congress to file a privileged resolution that, if passed, would require the State Department to provide information on any country receiving U.S. security assistance and that country\u2019s observance of internationally-recognized human rights. After introduction, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has ten days to consider it in committee, and if it fails to do so, the resolution can be called up for a vote on the Senate floor. If the resolution passes the Senate, the Trump Administration must submit the report within 30 days or the majority of security assistance authorized to Israel would be prohibited. If the resolution passes, and following the receipt of the State Department report, Congress may consider any necessary changes to U.S. security assistance to that country in light of the information received. If the Administration declines or fails to submit the required report, the Administration\u2019s decision would prompt the termination of certain covered security assistance programs for Israel.\n\nThe Senators were joined in introducing the resolution by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-N.M.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.).\n\nText of the resolution is available here.\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-09-17T09:52:05Z", "2026-09-17T09:53:00Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-and-murphy-join-senators-in-introducing-privileged-resolution-seeking-answers-on-west-bank-violence"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.830708235502243, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}