{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-kaine-sanders-announce-privileged-resolution-seeking-answers-on-west-bank-violence", "Van Hollen, Kaine, Sanders Announce Privileged Resolution Seeking Answers on West Bank Violence", "2026-08-27", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "MD", "Chris Van Hollen", "V000128", "www.vanhollen.senate.gov", "vanhollen", "https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), along with eight of their colleagues, announced their intent to introduce 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. Nine 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. They 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.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).\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 instability in the West Bank and the injustices facing Palestinian civilians 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 \u2013 and the Israeli government\u2019s lack of response to this violence \u2013 are 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\n\u201cIn my visits to the West Bank, I\u2019ve heard numerous stories about the organized strategy of harassment and violence settlers are inflicting upon Palestinian villagers and Palestinian Americans. Tactics include cutting off villagers from their wells, their vineyards, and their orchards, burning their vehicles, and assaulting defenseless individuals, all with the implicit support of the Netanyahu government. This is wrong under every moral code,\u201d said Senator Merkley. \u201cThis resolution demands answers about these abuses and accountability for those responsible.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Netanyahu government has failed to stop Israeli security forces and settler attacks in the West Bank for years, including attacks that killed American citizens. The Trump administration has even gone so far as to reverse sanctions against individuals connected to this pattern of horrific violence. It's long past time for the U.S. government to stand up for human rights, investigate this violence against Americans and Palestinian civilians, provide full information to Congress, and hold the perpetrators accountable,\u201d said Senator Warren.\n\n\u201cIsraeli settlers in the West Bank have perpetrated violent crimes against Palestinians, including American citizens, with impunity. It is completely reasonable for Congress to demand our own government to report who was involved in these attacks. The United States has a moral obligation to seek justice for both our own citizens and Palestinians, including many children, targeted by Israeli security forces or settlers in the West Bank,\u201d said Senator Smith. \u201cA mature democracy can face up to its failures and commit to doing better. I am not at all convinced that Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government is up to that task, which is why it\u2019s up to the United States.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have a responsibility to protect Americans abroad and seek justice when Americans are killed,\u201d said Senator Luj\u00e1n. \u201cThe escalating violence in the West Bank and lack of accountability for the deaths of American citizens are deeply concerning. This resolution will help us get the answers we need, demand accountability, and ensure that we have a better assessment of the human rights situation in the West Bank.\u201d\n\n\u201cIsraeli military and police forces are a leading perpetrator of deadly violence against American civilians\u2014including 9 killed since 2022,\u201d said Senator Welch. \u201cToo often there are no serious investigations and there is no accountability after violent attacks. Israel should be held to the same standards as every other nation when it comes to the lives of American citizens\u2014that\u2019s what this resolution demands.\u201d\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.", 1, "2026-08-28T17:11:49Z", "2026-08-28T17:13:14Z"]], "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.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-kaine-sanders-announce-privileged-resolution-seeking-answers-on-west-bank-violence"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4157718978822231, "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"}