Pax Christi USA endorses Van Hollen’s demand for answers on violence in Palestine

Pax Christi USA has joined with Churches for Middle East Peace, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Mennonite Central Committee, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and more than two dozen other faith and advocacy organizations in signing a strong message in support of Maryland’s Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s West Bank 502B resolution.

Since 2022, nine US Americans have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli settlers or security forces, including journalist Shireen Abu Akleh (photo), Omar Assad, and Aysenur Ezgi Eygi. None of these killings has resulted in meaningful accountability.

From the letter:

…This impunity is not an isolated failure. The United Nations has documented more than 1,430 incidents of settler violence in 2026, affecting approximately 260 Palestinian communities, as of August 10. The UN has warned that settler violence has reached unprecedented levels, while Palestinians face escalating displacement, attacks, and restrictions on their basic rights. Former Israeli generals have called the systemic violence “ethnic cleansing.” Against this backdrop, the Administration has repeatedly failed to conduct or disclose meaningful investigations into the deaths of US citizens, even as it describes the safety and security of Americans abroad as a top priority.

Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act gives Congress a direct, privileged mechanism to demand answers and accountability. After the resolution is introduced, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has ten days to consider it. If the committee does not act, the resolution can be called up for a vote on the Senate floor. If passed, the resolution would require the State Department to submit a report within 30 days addressing the circumstances of each American’s death, the Israeli security forces or settlers implicated, any use of US assistance in connection with these killings, and the status of Israeli and US investigations. It would also require an assessment of the human rights situation in the West Bank, including the detention of Palestinian children.

Sen. Van Hollen and colleagues have introduced a privileged resolution under Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act that would require the State Department to report to Congress within 30 days on these killings, the involvement of Israeli forces or settlers, any use of US assistance, and the status of Israeli and US investigations, as well as broader human rights conditions in the West Bank.

Use this link to read the letter and see the list of signers.