Resolution demanding accountability for Americans killed by Israel fails in US Senate

Submitted by MEE staff on Wed, 09/30/2026 - 19:17 Nine US citizens have been killed by Israel in the occupied West Bank since 2022

Mehmet Suat Eygi, centre, father of late Turkish-American student Aysenur Ezgi Eygi who was shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, mourns in front of a portrait of his daughter during her funeral ceremony at the cemetery in Didim, Turkey, on 14 September 2024 (Ozan Kose/AFP) Off

A resolution demanding answers on Israel's killing of US citizens in the occupied West Bank failed to gain Senate approval late on Tuesday, after just 47 lawmakers voted in its favour.

Among them was the lone Republican, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.

One Democrat, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, joined 50 other Republicans to vote against it.

Republicans Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Dan Sullivan of Alaska did not vote in the 100-member upper chamber.

Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, a vocal supporter of Palestinian rights and curbing US aid to Israel, introduced Senate Resolution 852 earlier this month, pursuant to Section 502(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act, which allows lawmakers to request human rights reports from the State Department on countries that receive US assistance.

Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign aid, with $3.3bn received in 2025.

Israel has killed nine US citizens in the occupied West Bank since 2022, and imprisoned three others.

"They have received no justice and no accountability. Their families – and the American people – deserve answers on their deaths," Van Hollen said in a statement released on Tuesday, following the late-night vote.

"But today Republicans denied them that. Meanwhile, the Palestinian people have also borne the toll of this violence day in and day out. They, too, deserve justice and accountability. But again, Republicans blocked that today," he added.

"It is our responsibility to ensure recipients of US taxpayer dollars act in line with our laws and our values – this resolution was an opportunity to shed light on a reality that flies in the face of that principle."

A familiar cycle

A similar effort in the Senate put forward two years ago by Vermont Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders only garnered 11 votes in favour, suggesting the Democratic establishment is now responding to the significant shift among the electorate on issues concerning Israel.

Israeli settlers set Palestinian homes and cars alight in West Bank rampage Read More »

"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, and so I think that this is a moment where we can use the fact that American citizens are not getting accountability and justice to shine the light on the fact that Palestinian children and others in the West Bank are subjected to these kinds of abuses every single day," Van Hollen told the IMEU Policy Project in a virtual discussion last week.

Last month, 45 Senate Democrats signed a letter addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging his "personal and direct engagement and intervention in order to protect our constituents and their families".

"The last few weeks alone saw a significant surge in violence on both sides, resulting in a large-scale response by Israeli security forces, mass arrests of Palestinians, and reported attacks by settlers on mosques,” the senators wrote of the occupied West Bank.

“We urge you to take measures to prevent and intercede in this violence, establish a credible mechanism to investigate violations of law, and to make clear that the Government of Israel will not tolerate violence by its people, just as it does not tolerate violence against its people," the letter added.

The senators called for Israel to complete its own investigations into the deaths of the nine US citizens.

Washington has never demanded independent investigations outside of the Israeli military's purview.

Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh appeared to have been targeted by Israeli forces in 2022, when she was shot in the head. Activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed by Israeli forces during a protest against the building of illegal settlements near Nablus in 2024. Ice cream shop worker Sayfollah Musallet was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in 2025.

Israeli attacks by both the military and settler groups in the occupied West Bank have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians over the past three years.

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