Senate Effort To Investigate Israeli Human Rights Abuses in the West Bank, Explained

Overview

On September 29, the Senate voted on S. Res. 852, a privileged resolution led by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that would require the State Department to produce a report for Congress within 30 days detailing human rights conditions in the West Bank and any efforts to investigate the deaths of nine American citizens killed by “violent Israeli citizens or Israeli security forces.” Under Section 502B(c) of the 1976 Foreign Assistance Act, failure by the State Department to submit the report within 30 days would prohibit U.S. security assistance to Israel, and the report’s findings could also provide a basis for subsequent congressional action to restrict or modify that assistance. The resolution failed in the Senate by a 51-47 vote, but notably, all Democrats except Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) voted in support. 

How does Section 502B(c) work?

S. Res 852 invokes Section 502B(c) of the 1976 Foreign Assistance Act, a provision that prohibits the U.S. from providing security assistance to governments that engage in a “consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.” Section 502B(c) provides Congress with a mechanism to require the State Department to provide additional information about a particular country’s human rights record and the basis for continued U.S. security assistance. 

Section 502B(c) resolutions receive privileged consideration in the Senate, meaning that after the resolution is introduced, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) has 10 days to consider it. If the committee does not act within 10 days, a senator can seek to discharge the resolution from committee consideration and bring it to a vote on the Senate floor. This expedited process allows the resolution to receive a simple majority vote. If a 502B(c) resolution passes, the State Department must submit the requested report to Congress within 30 days. If the administration does not provide the report within that window, Section 502B(c) stipulates that security assistance to the country under review will not be delivered until the report is shared with Congress, unless Congress authorizes the assistance. In this case, Senator Van Hollen and the other sponsors of this resolution stated that this would suspend the majority of U.S. security assistance to Israel until the reporting requirement is met. 

The resolution introduced by Senators Van Hollen, Kaine, and Sanders would have specifically required the State Department to present Congress with a report within 30 days of resolution passage that includes information on human rights conditions in the West Bank and specifically, information related to the killings of U.S. citizens by Israeli settlers or Israeli forces, as well as the detention of Palestinian children. 

The passage of the resolution would not have automatically terminated U.S. security assistance to Israel; rather, it would have required the administration to provide Congress with the requested information and could create a basis for subsequent congressional action, including a freeze on security assistance to Israel. Upon receiving the report from the State Department, Congress could have subsequently considered adopting a joint resolution to terminate, restrict, or continue security assistance to Israel. 

What is the context behind this vote?

This resolution comes at a moment of heightened Congressional attention to mounting violence in the West Bank and its impact on U.S. citizens there. The sponsors cite the deaths of nine U.S. citizens in the West Bank since January 2022, who were killed by Israeli settlers or security forces. The resolution also highlights concerns about the detention of Palestinian children and settler violence more broadly. The sponsors frame the resolution as an effort to obtain information from the administration about these deaths and developments so as to strengthen accountability for the treatment of U.S. citizens and Palestinians in the West Bank. 

The resolution was introduced with support from more than 20 Senate Democrats, who cite different rationales for their support, with some emphasizing accountability for the deaths of U.S. citizens and others focusing on settler violence, human rights, security assistance, and the advancement of the two-state solution. 

The September 29 vote marked the second effort since the October 7th attacks and subsequent war in Gaza and broader regional conflict to invoke Section 502B(c) with respect to Israel. In January 2024, Senator Sanders sought to use the same provision to require the State Department to report on potential human rights violations during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The Senate voted 72 to 11 to prevent the motion from advancing by tabling the motion to discharge the resolution from the SFRC. In January 2024, 10 Democrats and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) voted against tabling the resolution. 

The September 29 vote represents a dramatic increase in support from the previous effort to invoke Section 502B(c) with respect to Israel. Compared with the 11 senators that voted in favor of the resolution in 2024, 47 senators voted to advance the resolution on September 29. The supporters included 44 Democrats, two independents who caucus with the Democrats, and one Republican. The vote reflects the scope of growing frustration among Senate Democrats with Israeli policy in the West Bank and the treatment of Palestinians and U.S. citizens there. It also highlights the role of Section 502B(c) as a tool for congressional oversight of U.S. security assistance to Israel.