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Bipartisan Group of US Lawmakers Pushes to Sanction Palestinian Terrorist Group
Then-US Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), now a US senator, during a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, at the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, on June 4, 2024. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
US Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) have introduced to the Senate the Accountability for Terrorist Perpetrators of October 7th Act, bipartisan legislation which would sanction the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), the third largest terrorist group in Gaza.
“For years, the Popular Resistance Committees have carried out terrorist attacks against Israelis, Americans, and Palestinians,” Schiff said in a statement on Tuesday. “They were willing and cruel participants with Hamas during the horrific Oct. 7 massacre, killing innocent Israelis and taking and holding hostages after that terrible attack. Any organization engaging in this level of violence should be sanctioned under US law and officially designated as a terrorist group.”
In addition, US Reps. Brad Sherman (D-CA), David Kustoff (R-TN), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Mike Lawler (R-NY), and Sarah McBride (D-DE) reintroduced the legislation to the House of Representatives.
The PRC has executed over 100 terrorist attacks against both Israelis and Americans, according to the lawmakers, and participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, joining Hamas in killing both Americans and Israelis. The group touted its participation in the murder of roughly 1,200 individuals and abduction of 251 hostages on various social media outlets.
Unlike Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the two largest terrorist groups in Gaza, the PRC has not been issued sanctions or officially declared a terrorist organization by the United States. The legislation, if passed, would require the Secretary of State to formally assess whether the PRC satisfies the requirements to be officially considered a foreign terrorist organization.
The PRC have carried out a number of deadly terrorist attacks targeting military personnel and civilians within the Gaza Strip. In 2000, the group wounded eight civilians during a shooting attack on a bus in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. In 2002, the group killed three Israeli soldiers with explosive charges intended for use by military tanks. In 2004, PRC and PIJ claimed joint responsibility for murdering Israeli settler Tati Hatuel and her two daughters. In 2005, the PRC killed six Israeli civilians at the Karni Crossing, located on the border separating Israel and the Gaza strip.
“Despite decades of attacks against Americans and Israelis, including on Oct. 7, the PRC has yet to be properly sanctioned for its barbarism. This bill will help hold accountable every terrorist that participated in the Oct. 7 attacks,” Ricketts said in a statement.
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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
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