Democrats to Force Senate Vote on Israel’s Human Rights Practices

Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, on Thursday plans to introduce a resolution that would order the Trump administration to provide Congress with a detailed accounting of Israel’s human rights practices in the West Bank, laying the groundwork to force a vote on the matter in coming weeks.

The measure, the latest bid by Democrats in Congress to challenge the policies and actions of Israel’s government, invokes a provision of the Foreign Assistance Act that allows lawmakers to request information from the State Department about the human rights record of any country receiving U.S. security assistance.

Co-signed by 10 Senate Democrats, the resolution is privileged, meaning that Mr. Van Hollen could force a vote on it even if Republican leaders refuse, as expected, to bring it to the floor. That could lead to yet another vote in Congress showcasing Democrats’ divide over Israel as a growing contingent in the party turns against the Jewish state.

“We’ve seen ongoing human rights violations on the West Bank, but we’re going from bad to abysmal,” Mr. Van Hollen said in an interview.

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