Record Number of Senators Demand Accountability over West Bank Violence
September 29, 2026 — The Senate voted this evening on a resolution requiring the State Department to provide Congress with answers about violence in the West Bank, including on the killings of at least nine American citizens by Israeli settlers or Israeli security forces since 2022.
While the resolution did not receive enough votes to pass, it garnered a record level of support. 46 of the 47 members of the Democratic-aligned caucus voted for the resolution.
New Jewish Narrative welcomes the strong support the resolution received from Senate Democrats and thanks Senators Chris Van Hollen, Tim Kaine, and Bernie Sanders for their leadership. The vote demonstrated that a growing number of senators believe the United States government must make public information about violence targeting Palestinians — including when the alleged perpetrators are Israeli settlers or members of Israeli security forces.
The resolution would require the State Department to report to Congress on the status of investigations into the killings of American citizens, including who is suspected and which Israeli military units may have been involved. It also would require information about the treatment of Americans held in Israeli prisons and Palestinian children held in Israeli military detention.
The deaths of the nine Americans are part of a larger pattern: In 2025 alone, the UN recorded more than 1,800 settler attacks that injured Palestinians or damaged their property, but Israeli police investigations into settler violence end without an indictment more than 93 percent of the time. Meanwhile, the Israeli military prosecutor is reluctant to hold accountable Israeli soldiers involved in crimes targeting Palestinians.
Hadar Susskind, President and CEO of New Jewish Narrative, said:
“This was a vote of no confidence in the Israeli government. The government provided resources to settler terrorists. They clipped the wings of law enforcement. Now a record number of senators are saying that what happens in the West Bank can’t be swept under the rug anymore.
“While this resolution did not pass, the strong support it received shows that more members of Congress are demanding answers. That is an important change. The families of these Palestinian-Americans deserve the truth about what happened to their loved ones, and the American people deserve to know that our government is seeking accountability.”
The photo above is from February 2023. It shows the aftermath following a settler rampage in the West Bank town of Huwara. The attacks killed one, injured roughly 100, and set parts of the town ablaze. Credit: Osama Eid, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=129144700
