Hamas leaders unhappy over U.S. bill sanctioning the group

Hamas condemns the new American bill, the Hamas Human Shields Prevention Act, that sanctions the group for exploiting civilians as human shields, saying the Trump White House sides with the “Israeli narrative.”

By Elad Benari

 

Hamas on Thursday condemned a U.S. bill that sanctions the group for using civilians in Gaza as human shields, reported The Associated Press.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the bill sides with “the Israeli narrative”, according to the report.

The House of Representatives unanimously passed the Hamas Human Shields Prevention Act on Wednesday.

The Act, initiated by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), condemns Hamas’s use of civilians, including children, as human shields, sanctioning those who use them. It also emphasizes that using civilians as human shields violates both human rights and international humanitarian law, and emphasizes IDF efforts to avoid civilian casualties.

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The bill notes that “Hamas leaders routinely discourage Palestinian civilians from heeding these warnings, instructing them to remain in their homes, and, in some cases, force civilians to gather on the roofs of their homes to act as human shields.”

It will now be sent to the Senate for approval.

The bill comes a month after the U.S. designated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as a “global terrorist.” Haniyeh later said that “the decision is null and worthless” and added, “Let them dip the decision in water and then drink it.”

 

View original Arutz Sheva publication at:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/242026