The US House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill that would target for sanctions Hamas resistance movement and Hezbollah over allegations of using civilians as human shields guaranteeing that it will become law JTA reported.
The bill describes Hamas and Hezbollah groups as “repeated” practitioners of an action that violates international law claiming that Hamas routinely launches missiles at Israel from densely populated areas.
The US Senate unanimously passed the bipartisan bill in October.
The bill was authored by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and was co-sponsored by 50 other senators. It was first introduced this past summer.
“This critical and timely legislation mandates new sanctions against Hamas Hezbollah and foreign state agencies that use civilians as human shields or provide support to those doing so” the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) said in a statement Tuesday after the House passed the bill which now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature.
Last February the House of Representatives unanimously passed the Hamas Human Shields Prevention Act which condemns Hamas for the alleged use of civilians including children as human shields sanctioning those who use them.
The act however emphasizes the efforts made by the Israeli occupation military to avoid civilian casualties a claim that analysts said amounts to an attempt to whitewash Israeli crimes and terrorism against Palestinian civilians and unarmed protesters including on the Gaza border.
