Chris Smith: “I want to thank my good friend for yielding, and I rise in strong support of H.R. 3542, the Hamas Human Shields…”

“I want to thank my good friend for yielding, and I rise in strong support of H.R. 3542, the Hamas Human Shields Prevention Act, introduced, sponsored, and authored by my good friend and colleague Joe Wilson; and we are all very grateful he has brought this important legislation to the floor. H.R. 3542 is a critical and commonsense measure that addresses Hamas' cynical and well-documented practice of endangering civilian lives for the sake of its terror campaign against the State of Israel. Many independent observers attest to the Palestinian terrorist group's strategy of locating military equipment and installations amidst civilian infrastructure. A 2015 Amnesty International report, Mr. Speaker, entitled, ``Unlawful and Deadly,'' exposed this reprehensible conduct by the Palestinian terrorist groups during Israel's 2014 Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip. The report documented examples of ``attacks launched from the vicinity of civilian buildings or from residential areas'' in addition to the use of ``civilian buildings and facilities for other military purposes, such as storing munitions.'' In one instance chronicled in this report, a foreign journalist captured footage of a rocket launcher ``located some 50 meters from a hotel frequented by international correspondents, 100 meters away from a U.N.…”