Nearly all Senate Democrats voted to require the State Department to report on Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, in a continuing sign of the party’s hardening stance toward Israel.
The resolution, which failed by a vote of 51-47 on Tuesday night, would have required the State Department to provide lawmakers with reports on violence and human rights in the Palestinian territory.
Every Democrat but Sen. John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) supported the measure.
The largely symbolic vote is the latest in a series of resolutions showing a collapse of the Democratic Party’s previously broad support for Israel. Nine American citizens have died in the West Bank in recent years.
In April, Senate Democrats overwhelmingly supported a measure to bar the sale of 1,000-pound bombs and armed bulldozers to Israel out of concern they would be used to target Palestinians.
“While I was pleased that so many of my Democratic colleagues joined this effort, it’s clear the United States must do more,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) said in a statement after the vote. Van Hollen led the resolution with Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont).
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