Over 20 US lawmakers introduce resolution calling for recognition of Gaza genocide

Democratic US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and 20 other legislators have introduced a resolution declaring that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and urging Washington to meet its legal obligations under the Genocide Convention.

Tlaib, who is of Palestinian descent, said in a statement on Friday that the resolution “officially recognizes that Israel has committed the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza” and calls for the United States to take immediate, concrete action to fulfill its binding legal obligations as a party to the Genocide Convention to “prevent and punish the crime of genocide.”

“The Israeli regime’s genocide in Gaza has not ended, and it will not end until we act,” the statement added, leveling criticism at the US government for providing “a blank check for war crimes and ethnic cleansing.”

The measure has the support of Representatives Becca Balint, Andre Carson, Greg Casar, Maxine Dexter, Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Jesus G. Chuy Garcia, Al Green, Pramila Jayapal, Hank Johnson, Ro Khanna, Summer Lee, Jim McGovern, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Melanie Stansbury, Jill Tokuda, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

Alongside the 21 House Democrats backing the resolution, Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and progressive Senator Bernie Sanders have also denounced Israel over the Gaza genocide.

UNRWA chief slams Israel for crippling Gaza aid operations

UNRWA says Israel was deliberately disrupting its operation by blocking the entry of vital aid to Gaza.

The resolution states that actions by Israeli forces amount to genocide, citing widespread civilian deaths, deliberate starvation, “systematic destruction” of civil, water, and health infrastructure, and remarks by high-ranking Israeli officials that it interprets as evidence of genocidal intent.

Among these is an October 9, 2023, statement by former Israeli minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant. “We are imposing a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel,” he said at the time.

More than 100 rights groups have endorsed Tlaib’s congressional proposal.

“This resolution is an important step towards recognizing Israel’s actions against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip for what they are – genocide,” Elizabeth Rghebi, Middle East advocacy director at Amnesty International USA, said in a statement.

“The US ratified the Genocide Convention, which imposes a duty on states to prevent and punish the crime. Amnesty International calls on all members of Congress to urgently support this resolution and ensure the US begins taking the actions necessary to prevent and punish Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”

International bodies, including the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, and other rights groups, have concluded that the Israeli regime’s war on Gaza amounts to genocide.

Since October 2023, Israel has killed at least 69,187 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, and injured 170,703 others.

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