Overview

• Sen. Jeff Merkley led the nonbinding measure, co-sponsored by Sens. Chris Van Hollen, Tim Kaine, Peter Welch, Tina Smith, Tammy Baldwin, Mazie Hirono and Bernie Sanders.
• The resolution urges President Trump to recognize a demilitarized Palestinian state within a two-state framework, marking a departure from the United States’ traditional negotiated-only approach.
• It calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and condemns Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks.
• Prospects for passage are low given Republican control of the Senate and the absence of GOP support, with the administration signaling opposition to allied recognition moves.
• The move coincides with plans by U.S. allies to recognize Palestinian statehood at the U.N. General Assembly and follows heightened scrutiny of the Gaza war, including a U.N. inquiry alleging genocide that Israel rejects and casualty figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry reported by news outlets.