The United States Senate on Tuesday blocked a resolution that would have required President Donald Trump’s administration to report on the killing of nine Americans in the occupied West Bank and on Israel’s treatment of Palestinian children in military detention.
Senators voted largely along party lines to defeat the measure. Al Jazeera reported the tally as 47-53; the Guardian and US News & World Report put it at 47-51.
The resolution was brought to the floor by Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, according to Al Jazeera. It cited a “lack of accountability” by Israel’s government and an “inability to secure justice” by the US government.
The measure sought a report covering the killings of American citizens in the territory as well as Israel’s detention of Palestinian children in the military system, according to the Guardian’s account of the text.
US News & World Report described the procedural vote as a sign of Republicans’ continuing strong support for Trump’s coalition, with the party’s senators opposing the resolution while Democrats largely backed it.
The defeat leaves no congressional requirement in place for the administration to report publicly on the cases of the nine Americans killed in the West Bank or on conditions for Palestinian minors in Israeli military custody.