Representatives urge US to sanction Gaza group Popular Resistance Committees for role in Oct. 7

PRC participated in Hamas' attacks on October 7 and boasted about their involvement, according to a release from Rep. Brad Sherman's office.

 Rep. Brad Sherman, September 16, 2020. (photo credit: Kevin Dietsch/Pool via REUTERS)
Rep. Brad Sherman, September 16, 2020.
(photo credit: Kevin Dietsch/Pool via REUTERS)

It's time for the US to include Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) on its list of designated terrorist groups, four bipartisan members of Congress said on Tuesday as they introduced the “Accountability for Terrorist Perpetrators of October 7th Act."

PRC is the third largest terror group in Gaza following Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, according to a release from Rep. Brad Sherman's (D-CA) office. 

Sherman along with Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) introduced the act. 

 A house at Kibbutz Nirim burned on October 7 in the Hamas attack. (credit: SETH J. FRANTZMAN)
A house at Kibbutz Nirim burned on October 7 in the Hamas attack. (credit: SETH J. FRANTZMAN)

Group participated in Oct 7, has long history of attacks

PRC participated in Hamas' attacks on October 7 and boasted about their involvement, according to the release. 

PRC has a long history of carrying out terror attacks across Israel and the Palestinian territories but has never faced US sanctions despite multiple State Department reports identifying these attacks. 

“Hamas was not the only terrorist group guilty of atrocities on October 7. This bill updates our sanctions to cover all of the terrorist groups operating in the West Bank and Gaza," McCaul said. "The United States and Israel will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder to defend our mutual security, and we will use all available authorities to stop funding and other support going to violent terrorists.”