Van Hollen Says Senate Vote Could Come Next Week on Israeli Accountability for Nine Dead US Citizens

A Senate vote on holding Israel accountable for the deaths of nine American citizens in the occupied West Bank could happen as soon as next week, Senator Chris Van Hollen said Thursday.

The Maryland Democrat introduced Senate Resolution 852 earlier this month under Section 502(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act, a provision that lets lawmakers force the State Department to produce human rights reports on countries receiving US aid. Israel received $3.3bn in US assistance in 2025, making it the largest recipient of American foreign aid.

Speaking to a virtual session of the IMEU Policy Project, Van Hollen said 24 Democratic senators have signed on as co-sponsors.

"These are Democratic senators who have put their names on the resolution, which is definitely progress from where we were two years ago when fighting for human rights for Palestinians, whether in Gaza or the West Bank, was a lonely effort," Van Hollen said.

The resolution is privileged, meaning it can bypass other Senate business once enough time has passed since its introduction. Van Hollen said that clock has now run out, putting a vote within reach early next week. If it doesn't happen then, he said, it will have to wait until after the November 3 midterms.

The senator was blunt about the resolution's chief obstacle: zero Republican support. With the Senate split 53-47 in the GOP's favor and Vice President JD Vance available to break a tie, Van Hollen said no Republican has been willing to "stand up and demand justice for these American citizens."

He framed the effort as part of a broader shift in how Congress talks about the West Bank. "We're at a moment where we see growing recognition throughout the public that is slowly filtering up and slowly having an impact on the bubble that is the United States Congress," he said, adding that American deaths without accountability could help "shine the light" on abuses Palestinians face daily.

The resolution follows a letter last month signed by 45 Senate Democrats urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "personal and direct engagement and intervention" to protect their constituents, and calling on Israel to complete its own investigations into the nine deaths.

Among the cases: Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, shot in the head in 2022 in what appeared to be a targeted killing by Israeli forces; activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, killed by Israeli forces during a 2024 protest against settlement construction near Nablus; and ice cream shop worker Sayfollah Musallet, beaten to death by settlers in 2025. None of the deaths has produced an independent investigation outside the Israeli military's own process. Israeli military and settler attacks in the West Bank have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians over the past three years.