The US Senate rejected a resolution Tuesday that would have required the US State Department to prepare a report on Israel’s human rights practices amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Section 2 of the resolution called for the department to prepare a report within 30 days containing, among others: all available credible information concerning alleged violations of internationally recognized human rights by the Israeli government, an assessment of whether extraordinary circumstances exist that necessitate a continuation of security assistance for the Israeli government, a certification that no unit of the Israeli security forces receiving United States assistance since 2018 has committed any gross violations of human rights, and a summary and list of US weapons and munitions provided to Israel since October 7, 2023.
On the Senate floor, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said of the resolution, “This is a simple request for information. It does not alter aid to Israel in any way; it simply requests a report on how US aid is being used. This is a very modest, commonsense proposal, and, frankly, it is hard for me to understand why anyone would oppose it.” Sanders also claimed, “Much of the destruction that has taken place in Gaza has been done with US weapons,” and that he is “concerned about the implications of some of the very extreme statements and unclear intentions coming out of the Netanyahu government.” Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) called the resolution “the wrong vehicle to deal with this issue” and expressed fears that Iran would conduct more attacks in the region if the Senate passed the resolution.
The 100-member body voted to table the resolution, Senate Resolution 504, with 72 voting against the resolution, 11 for, and 17 not voting. Senator Sanders introduced the resolution. A bipartisan group rejected the measure. The 11 voting in favor of the resolution were almost entirely members of the Democratic Party. Only one Republican voted in favor of the resolution, Rand Paul (R-KY), and one independent, Bernie Sanders.
