WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Congressman Tim Burchett (R-TN) introduced H.Res. 1323, which rejects the United Nations’ decision to place the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) on a list of child’s rights abusers. This bill is a bipartisan resolution introduced with original co-sponsors Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ).

“This UN move is just the latest example of the ridiculous, antisemitic double standard that Israel must deal with. The United Nations will use kid gloves with Hamas after it murders over a thousand innocent Israelis. Still, when exercises its right to defend itself, the IDF gets put on the same list as the Taliban and Hezbollah. If it wanted to make itself useful, the UN would be urging Hamas every day to accept a ceasefire and return the hostages,” said Rep. Moskowitz.

“This latest stunt by the United Nations is a total joke. Israel is our greatest ally in the Middle East and their leadership tries to protect life. Hamas, on the other hand, hides behind innocent civilians like a bunch of cowards. We need to make it clear to the United Nations that the United States completely supports Israel’s efforts to wipe these terrorists off the map,” said Rep. Burchett.

“Once again the UN is revealing itself for the cesspool of antisemitism it really is,” said Rep. Lawler.“Again and again, they slander Israel for defending itself while giving the real human rights abusers a free pass and a free platform to spew their hateful propaganda under the guise of international legitimacy. Contrary to the lies of the Hamas apologists, IDF soldiers are not ‘child rights abusers.’ They are brave men and women defending their homeland and fighting to rescue their citizens. The real ‘child rights abusers’ are the murderers who went door to door on October 7th murdering innocent men, women, and children in Israel. The IDF goes out of its way to avoid innocent casualties, dropping leaflets to warn civilians. Hamas, on the other hand, cowardly uses civilians as human shields, firing rockets from schools and hospitals. They are the real oppressors of the Palestinian people. This war won’t end until they surrender and release every remaining hostage.” 

BACKGROUND:

On June 13, 2024, the United Nations published its Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict. The report named the IDF alongside groups such as the Taliban in Afghanistan, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Al-Shabaab in Somalia, and the Yemen Armed Forces as groups that committed abuses against children. H.Res. 1323 rejects the United Nations decision to place the Israel Defense Force on the list of child’s rights abusers, condemns the United Nations’ longstanding bias against Israel, reaffirms support for the States of Israel, and calls on Hamas to free all remaining hostages. It also includes:

• The fact that Hamas has committed many war crimes, including against innocent civilians.
• Hamas’s use of civilians and civilian infrastructure as human shields.
• The fact that Hamas’s Chief in Gaza stated civilian Palestinian casualties are a deliberate strategy.
• The fact the United Nations continues to refuse to recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization.
• The fact the United Nations routinely relies on Hamas-supplied casualties for its reports, and at one point, it halved its count of Palestinian women and children killed in Gaza following criticism over the lack of verification of Hamas-supplied data.
• The fact that the IDF has taken unprecedented precautions to prevent harm to civilians.

The full text of H.Res. 1323 can be found here.

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