Van Hollen, Kaine and Sanders Unveil Privileged Senate Resolution Demanding Accounting for 9 Americans Killed in West Bank

On Thursday, August 27, 2026, Senators Chris Van Hollen, Tim Kaine and Bernie Sanders, joined by eight Democratic colleagues including Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey, Mazie Hirono and Jeff Merkley, announced a privileged resolution under Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act demanding the State Department report to Congress within 30 days on investigations into the killings of nine American citizens by Israeli settlers or security forces in the West Bank, and on the human rights situation there, including the detention of Palestinian children. The move is separate from a sign-on letter sent to Prime Minister Netanyahu a day earlier by most of the Senate Democratic caucus; unlike that letter, the 502B resolution carries statutory teeth, potentially restricting security assistance if the administration fails to comply. Van Hollen said 'American citizens have been killed time and again, and they have received no justice and no accountability,' while Sanders said 'the United States cannot keep bankrolling this violence and looking the other way.' Warren said the Trump administration 'has reversed sanctions against individuals connected to this violence.' The push followed a confrontation earlier in August between Israeli forces and settlers at the West Bank home of a Palestinian-American family in Qusra.